TWD: Dimply Plum Cake

Michelle of Bake-en selected the Dimply Plum Cake for this week's Tuesdays with Dorie recipe. It seemed like the perfect fall recipe with the plums, but I really wasn't sure how this was going to turn out. I mean, when I hear "cake", "plum" usually isn't in the same sentence. For me though, TWD is all about trying new things, so I decided to jump right in! I actually was a little excited though as I perused the ingredient list a little more closely. I saw that this recipe has a touch of ground cardamom. I recently bought a ton of cardamom to use in my chai tea and was glad to finally have another use for it.

This recipe was super easy to put together. Dorie does suggest using Italian prune plums if possible, but my local grocery store didn't have those today. I was just going to get some purple plums when my husband convinced me to grab a few different varieties. I grabbed some super ripe purple plums, a few red ones, and some of the new pluots (which by the way, are a cross between a plum and an apricot and are super sweet and super yum!) Since these plums were larger than the ones Dorie suggested, I could only fit 9 plum halves instead of 12. No biggie though!

I was a little worried about how this was going to turn out as I peaked into the oven 30 minutes into baking it. The cake was starting to really puff up and almost enveloped the plums! The sides were also started to brown while the middle was still nowhere near close to done. I crossed my fingers and said a little prayer to the baking fairies.

After 15 more minutes, the crust was browned all over and a toothpick in the middle came out pretty much clean. I didn't want to risk burning the top, so I pulled it out right at 45 minutes. Once I set it on the cooling rack, I was please to see all the different color variations from the different plum varieties! The bright pink ones are the pluots, the dark-colored runny ones are the super ripe purple plums, and the bland looking ones are the red plums.

After allowing the cake to cool, I sliced out a corner piece with the runny purple plum and took a bite... a bite into heaven! I loved the flavors in the cake! I could definitely taste the cardamom but only a hint of it. (By the way, I had a cup of chai tea with cardmom to drink with this -- FABULOUS!) I could also taste a hint of the orange zest which was a great compliment to the sweet/tart flavor of the warm, juicy plum. So yum! My favorite part of the cake though was something that probably wasn't supposed to be there. My cake was slightly underdone in the areas between the plums... but I didn't care! I loved the flavor even more!

I am normally satisfied with just one piece of desert, but I had to go for another. This time, I grabbed a piece with a red plum. The fruit was not as ripe so it was a little tough to cut through with just a fork, but it tasted yummy as well.

I saved one piece with the pluot for my snack tomorrow, but the rest is going to work with my husband. Dorie says this cake is just good for about 2 days, so unfortunately, I won't be able to make this one last. Oh well, it was good while I did have it! Thanks for choosing this one Michelle!

***UPDATE: I had the piece with the pluot today. It was the best by far! If I make this again, I will either make it with super ripe plums or with all pluots. Mmmm! Unfortunately though, this yummy cake didn't get such a warm reception from others. My DH took it to work but apparently very few people... like um, 2, tried it. Apparently it looked too "weird" and nobody really seemed adventurous enough to try it. Bummer! Oh well. If I make this again, I'll just cut the recipe in half and have it all to myself! Mwaaa haaa haaaaaa!

My Try at Making Christmas Cards

Okay, so every year I say that I am going to make my own Christmas cards using my seemingly endless supply of scrapbook stuff. Well this year, I actually got a couple done. I'm not sure how I like them though. They look kind of plain to me. Any ideas on how to jazz them up? Which one (if any) do you like best? My husband likes the one in the bottom photo in the middle. (Exluding the one in the middle of the second photo which is not done,) that's the one I like the least! I like the one on the left in the top photo. He said it's not "festive" enough. Hmmm, any tips?

Book Review: Twilight

***Spoiler Alert*** Well, it took me just two days, but I finished Twilight! Overall, the story was a fun read that certainly didn't require any "deep" thinking on my part, which is sometimes good. It was definitely entertaining. What I didn't like about it though was that the relationship between Bella and Edward I found to be juvenile. Of course they are in high school so HELLO? of course it's going to be! I don't know, I guess I was just hoping for something deeper. For most of the story, all Bella talks about is how "beautiful" and "godlike" (ironically enough) Edward, her vampire beau is. And Edward is mesmerized by how different she is from the other girls at school (classic) and how her scent is intoxicating to him. Hmmm, would he love her as much if she didn't smell so yummy to him? A question all of us ladies ponder! I digress.... Anyhow, their love affair is innocent and endearing. Their "us against the world" attitude is little much for me at times though. She wants him to give her the "kiss of death," if you will, but he refuses. He refuses to take away the life that still lies before her, yet she is convinced that a life without him is a life not worth living. Hey sister -- You're 17! Quit being so darn dramatic! Yet, I believe I said those same things too at 17 -- hmm....

While I wanted to yell at the young and naive Bella at times, the character of Edward kept me turning page after page. I found him to be a far more intriguing character with complexities that Bella simply can't match. I kept begging the author to tell me more about him! She refused to give in to me, at least yet. (Character development is not strong in this book.) So it appears that I will have to read the other books in the series to delve deeper in the mind of our young, "godlike" vamp and to see how his and Bella's tortured romance unfolds.

Completed a Challenge!

So I said that I wanted to do more challenges, so last night, I tried to make a card using four different stamps for a challenge on the Two Peas stamping board. Well, I read on somebody's blog (sorry, I forget who!) about these cool directions on how to make a criss cross card. The directions are available at Split Coast Stampers. (HERE is a list of all sorts of project ideas!) Anyhow I decided to do both projects in one! I had a little trouble with the stamps on the green band, but I think it still came out okay. The card is not completely done yet. I think it's still missing something, but I'm not quite sure. Still thinking about what to do. Anyhow, here is it!

And here is another card I made last night. This is a TOTAL scraplift though, so I must give credit to Paula over on the Stamping MB at Two Peas. HERE is her original. I have that same stamp and have been puzzled over how to use it! Here is my version. I hope she doesn't mind that I borrowed her idea!

I liked this layout so much, I made another card using a different stamp. I especially liked this stamp because if you look carefully at the flower, it has a paisley design, just like the PP! (Hard to see in pic. SORRY!)

I still want to add a little extra to these cards too. I have to wait until my next trip to Archivers though to get what I want. That'll maybe be next weekend though! Yea!

Well, I think that is all for me for today. My husband has been out of town all week for business and is finally coming home tonight. We're planning on going out to dinner and then just getting some well-needed relaxing for the both of us! TGIF! Have a great weekend everyone!

Trying to Persevere Day 1...and MANGOS!

Today is my first day off (again) from running. I'm planning on taking at least a full week off, maybe even two. I worked out on my elliptical today for about 30 minutes. I wanted to go 40, but my knee started to hurt, so I stopped. During those 30 minutes, I pushed as hard as I could so that I could get my heart rate up, but it didn't seem to want to budge! (I don't know if that is a good thing or a bad thing!) Well, even though I was at a "conversational pace" nearly the whole time, my legs felt like jello when I got off! I didn't stop there though! After the ellliptical, I did a little Pilates. I got a new target toning Pilates DVD. It's by Denise Austin who can be slightly annoying at times, but the DVD itself is pretty cool because it has 6 or so different workouts for all different areas of the body (and 1 workout for full body) and you can totally customize your workout by choosing which ones you want to do through the menu, then the DVD will play only those. Cool! Anyway, I just the beginner's abs workout, and then the hips and the butt workout. All of those should help with my IT band problems.

Oh, and btw, in case you are wondering WTH an IT band even is, I think this image depicts it well... So anyhow, I think my IT band is getting much better. My left knee is really the only one that really hurts now, and even then, it's not as bad as it has been. Hopefully, it'll be gone soon.



So aside from that, I did have another positive result from this injury. Here's the short story: injured knees leads to time on the couch icing knees. That leads to increased tv watching, specifically, shows I would never normally watch. This leads to the Food Network and the discovery of (a) a cool show called Iron Chef America, and (b) the founding of two cool new recipes! First, Iron Chef...the best part of the show is the opening. It's a cooking show but they are so completely dramatic about it -- it's hilarious! My fave part though is when they reveal the secret ingredient. I could describe it, or you could just see for yourself...




MANGOS! HILARIOUS!

Okay, now onto the new recipes I found. I made scallops provencal with herbed rice. It was my first time cooking and eating scallops and they turned out AWESOME! Both things were super YUM and super easy to make too! I'll try to post the recipes, or at least link them tomorrow! (The website where I got the recipes is being fiesty right now! UPDATE: They are linked now!)

Bursting with Blueberry Goodness

After making the double crusted blueberry pie for TWD, I had a cup of blueberries left over. It was the perfect amount for making the Orange Berry Muffins also from the book Baking: From My Home to Yours by Dorie Greenspan. This recipe was a nice respite from the blueberry pie. It was so quick and easy -- in just about an hour after starting, I was already tasting my sweet success.

The recipe is pretty basic, the only difference maybe was that it had orange zest that you actually rubbed into the sugar to bring out the flavor more. I've not done that before. It was a nice little touch.

Other than that, I thought the recipe came together well. The batter was thick and easy to scoop into the muffin tins. Oh, BTW, I've learned to use an ice cream scoop or melon baller to get the batter into the tins pretty nicely! Just a little tip! After the batter went into the oven, the recipe said that you could sprinkle some sugar on top after about 10 minutes in, but I decided not to. The muffins puffed up pretty fast and quickly baked up in just 20 minutes. When I pulled them out of the oven, I could see many of the blueberries had burst, allowing their sugary goodness to escape. I had to save one by eating it immediately! While it was pretty yummy, I wished I had sprinkled some sugar on top after all. I think it would have sweetened them up a bit. In fact, they kind of had a savory, corn bread like taste. I have no idea where that came from. There was no corn meal or anything like that in the batter, so I don't know. At first I thought it was just me who was tasting that, but then another person who tasted them said the exact same thing. Oh well. If I make these again, I'll definitely add a little more sweetness with the sugar.

Funky Flashback: A Few Ghoulish Videos!

To help you get in the Halloween spirit, I will be sharing three gouhlish videos starting with "Ghostbusters" by Ray Parker Jr. While this video was from an awesome movie, I'm not sure what is scarier in this video -- the ghosts or the overuse of neon lights! :-)



And no Halloween-themed music video collection would be complete without...Michael Jackson's "Thriller"!



While the last selection isn't a "funky flashback," hopefully it will get you in the Halloween spirit. Here's "This is Halloween" from the movie The Nightmare Before Christmas.



For more Halloween fun, I've posted a ghostly tale today and a few others earlier this week. Check them out!

Proof of the Power of Positivity #1

(Wow, my third post today!) Okay, here is my first list of how the Law of Attraction has worked for me. (See post below.) They may be little things, but that's okay!

1. One night while I was scrapbooking, there was a tv show on about lucky people. They were asking the question, "Are there people who are really lucky?" One thing I remember from the show is where they took a group of people who considered themselves lucky and one group who considered themselves unlucky. They put money on a street and sent each person walking down that street. Nearly all of the "lucky" people found the money and nearly none of the "unlucky" people found it! After a few more experiements with similar results, they determined that "luck" is really not some cosmic occurance -- it has more to do with perception and observation. People who think they are lucky, expect things to come there way and look for things to come their way. They are more observant and more celebratory of when good things occur.
   
   I went for a run the next day and was thinking about that money experiment. I thought to myself, "I'm a pretty lucky person. I wonder when I'll find money someday. I just need to be more observant." As I finished my run, I stretched, then started walking over to my car. I decided to take a different way back to the car and just as I cutting through the lot, I looked down and guess what I saw -- a $5 bill! :-)
   


2. Last night I was working on a scrapbook project. Last week my DH and I went to Cord Camera to get some cardstock for my projects. I could NOT find the right color cs to save my life, and they have every color cs there imaginable. I gave up. So as I'm working on my project, I think to myself, "I know I have everything I need right here to make this project even better." I decided to look through my old stash of cs, and there is the perfect color I needed! Yea! (Pics of that project to come!)

I hope to add to my list throughout the day! Do you have examples of how the Law of Attraction (or positive thinking at least) has worked for you?! Please share! :-)

I've Got a Challenge For You!

Okay, you know by now that I think Cards for Heroes is a great program. AND, just the other day I posted about how I want to do some challenges. I also challenged YOU to take some on too. Well, the two have joined! Cards for Heroes is hosting a challenge! For every card you send to them (which will then be forwarded to soldiers overseas so that they can use them to send notes to loved ones,) you will earn one entry. So if you send 20 cards = 20 entries! You can earn entries in other ways too. Then in early Feb, they will draw a name and the winner will receive a bunch of cool prizes! (I think the real prize though is in knowing that you are helping out and doing wonderful things for others who have sacrificed so much! I mean really, stop for a moment and think about what the soldiers and their families have given up for us and for others. Now, how hard is it for us to make or buy just a few cards to send over to them? It's such a small and easy thing for us to, but is one that could be very meaningful to them, so think about it!) Check out the website for more info. You can click HERE or on the banner below!

Speedwork = Torture

I decided to try to get one session of speedwork in before my race this Saturday and opted for a tempo run. I don't have a path near me with mile markers, so I used MapMyRun.com to plot out a course at my local bike path. I was lucky enough to find a path with enough landmarks to do a 1.5 mile warmup, a 4 mile tempo run, and a 1 mile cooldown -- Perfect! I then checked Accuweather to see when it would be best to run. The forecast said it would be clear until noon which was perfect since I had a chiro appt at noon anyway. I set my alarm for 7 and set all of my clothes out.

I woke up the next morning to the howling of wind and patter of rain on the windows. WHAT?! Stupid forecasters! What do you they get paid for anyway?! So I got on INAccuweather to look at the radar. The whole map was nearly all green and yellow. Grrrrr. It looked like it might clear up in another hour though, so I decided to wait it out. After an hour or so it was still raining -- I decided to just go and brave the weather.

I went out to my car, already annoyed at my start to the day only to look over and see a near flat tire! GRRRRRR. I fiddle with the air compressor with no luck. I decided to just go to the stupid gas station down the street and fill it up there.

Finally, I fix my tire, go bankrupt filling my gas tank, and finally head over to the bike path. After all the time I wasted fiddling with the tire though, I had JUST enough time to get my run in. Luckily, the skies cleared up and the sun started shining. At first I thought, "YES, I did wait it out perfectly!" Then I noticed the steam coming off the path...the only thing the sun did at that point was evaporate all of the water right back into the air creating a soupy, humid mixture that hung all around me. Oh well!

I took it easy on my 1.5 mile warmup and then kicked it into gear for my 4 mile run. I am SO bad at gauging my pace, so I did the best I could to stick to a 9 minute mile. I couldn't really tell whether I was on pace or not since there were no mile markers until 1.5 miles into the tempo. I felt like I was going pretty fast though, although I wasn't feeling great at all. My legs felt tired and I felt like I was gasping to breath in that thick air! It took awhile for me to settle my breathing and ignore my legs which were whining at me to stop. I saw the 1.5 mile landmark ahead and was hoping to see a low time so that I could at least confirm that yes, my efforts creating kickin-butt pace. Yeah...that didn't happen. I hit the 1.5 mile mark with a time of around 14:30. Whoa, that's one minute off the time I should have hit at that point. UGH! I already felt like I was using every fiber of my being to run fast, and then I found out I was too slow! WAH! I told myself to suck it up and just move faster. I kicked it up a notch and told myself to just push on. Little negative thoughts kept creeping in my head though..."You don't need to do all 4 miles...you can just do 3.5...or maybe even just 3. That's still good!" I thought, "NO NO NO! I WILL do the 4!" Once I got to the 3.5 mark, I was tempted to stop, but luckily enough, I could see the mile 4 marker ahead. I just focused on that and completed my run. As soon as I hit that though, I was exhausted! I pushed so hard during those 4 miles, I immediately stopped to walk to catch my breath. I haven't walked during a run in months! The only consolation was that at least it was only during my cooldown. I walked for one minute and the jogged the rest of the cooldown.

I wasn't too disappointed about the walk during the cooldown, but I am bummed about how hard those 4 miles were. I ended up running them at an avg pace of 8:45 per mile, which according to my target times via the McMillan Calculator, is pretty good. (My tempo pace is supposed to be 8:47 to 9:10.) What concerns me though is that there is NO WAY I could have done another mile at that pace today. I could barely do the 4 miles! What really bums me out now though is seeing that my target pace for my 10K is supposed to be 8:40 per mile. I had a hard enough time today doing 4 miles at 8:45, and I'm supposed to 6.2 miles at 8:40? I don't know how I'm going to do that! I think I'm going to need a little race magic! Actually, the magic of the race atmosphere has helped me out in the past! In fact, during my 5.25 mile race a few weeks ago, I averaged an 8:36 pace for the 5 mile portion and that was with a crummy first mile! Maybe it was the weather today...maybe it was my harder than normal cross-training session yesterday... maybe it was just a bad run. I hate excuses. Oh well. I'll just have to except it for what it is and let the race atmosphere carry me as fast as I can go this Saturday! ***crossing fingers***

TWD: Black and White Banana Bread

This is my first TWD post since taking two weeks off while on vacation in Hawaii. (To read about that, see posts below.) While I LOVED my time in Hawaii, there is one and possibly only one thing I missed about home, and that is being able to cook my own food! I was glad to get back into baking with Tuesdays with Dorie this week. The selection of the week is Black and White Banana Bread and was chosen by Ashlee at A Year in the Kitchen. (See her blog for the recipe.)

I was excited to try it because I love bread and also because I had never attempted marbling before, so I was interested to see how it would turn out. Then I went over to the TWD blog and saw that many people were having trouble with the recipe. Many said the bread didn't cook through, the batter was too runny, it was too dry on the edges and too moist in the middle or that their marbling didn't turn out at all! I was really worried at this point. I figured though, if I botched it, at least I wouldn't be the only one!

Well, I baked it last night and followed the directions to a T. It actually seemed pretty easy. I baked it in the oven as directed, and what can I say? The baking fairies worked their magic because my bread turned out pretty decent! Now if you click on over to Ashlee's blog, her bread looks awesome! Mine...ugh, not that great. I wish it were more puffed up and airy like hers. Mine settled a bit more and is more dense, but it's still better than I was hoping for considering all the trauma so many people were having.

I gave it a taste and it was actually pretty good! It wasn't dry at all. It was quite moist, but not too much. Now, I'm not a fan of chocolate in bread, so I likely will not make this again, but it was still a good baking experience!

Next week we are supposed to make blueberry ice cream. I don't have an ice cream maker so I immediately thought I would just do the backup choice which is simply to do a recipe from a previous TWD week. But then I started reading about a few people who already made the ice cream and how awesome it was! I know how to make ice cream without a maker (using bags and ice) but it's such a pain in the butt! We'll see how ambitious I'm feeling this weekend!

Cool Cards Using SheetLoad

We had a snowday today (WOO HOO) so I had some extra time to do some fun things. A few days ago, I ran across this cool blog called Sheetload. On the blog, you can download directions for using just a few pieces of patterned paper and cardstock to make awesome cards! (Check them out!) I've been wanting to make some cards so I finally got to today. Here are a couple of cards I made using the August sketch.

What's cool is that with the directions and the sketch, I was able to make the cards pretty fast. What's also cool is that I was able to use materials that I already had! Here is what I used: PP is "Emma" by Making Memories, stamps are $1 stamps from Joanns or Michaels, charms purchased from Joanns or Walmart, flowers by Prima, and the ribbon I just had laying around.

I'm pretty happy with how they turned out. It was a great way to use up the PP I never use anymore and a quick way to get cards done for next year! :-)

A Few More Summertime Blooms

Just wanted to share a few more blooms from our yard this year! Here are our clematis which are on the side of our house. We've had the large purple Jackmanii for three years now. The others are new. The last pic is an Oriental Lily which is blooming a little early this year, 'Mona Lisa'. Enjoy!

A New Mission: The Power of Positivity!

So since I finally finished The Other Boleyn Girl, I picked up a new book and one that I think I am in need right about now: Law of Attraction by Michael Losier. The basic premise of the book says that whatever you are thinking or feeling, you are putting out a vibe. Whatever the vibe is, the universe responds by giving you more of what you are putting out -- so if you are putting out a positive vibe, more positive, good things will come your way. If you are putting out a negative vibe, more negative, unwanted things will find you. So basically, the law of attraction says that you are attracting positive or negative things (or people!) into your life based on the kind of vibes you are putting out there.

When I first heard this, I thought, WHAT?! That sounds like a bunch of mumbo jumbo! But then I kept hearing more from all over the place. With everything going on in my life right now (or maybe I should say not going on,) I thought I'd give the book a try.

This book is a super short read! (I started it and finished it in under an hour!) It has a lot of activities and worksheets to get you started in the right direction. After reading it, I figure that whether I believe in the whole vibrations into the universe thing or not, much of what Losier said in the book is just good positive thinking and what could be wrong with that?! Here are some things he suggests:

• Think about what you want. Write it down and be specific! To get started, it helps sometimes to write about what you don't want. For example, if you want to find your ideal spouse, use your negative experiences to write down what you don't want. Those things are often much easier to list! THEN, turn each item on your negative list into something on your list of things you DO want. For example, if you know you don't want a spouse who is controlling, write instead that you want to find a spouse who is flexible, trusting and well-balanced. Losier calls this "identifying a contrast".
  
  Again, whether you believe in the Law of Attraction or not, many goal-oriented people will take the time to actually write out their goals. I remember reading somewhere that those people who actually write them down are far more successful in achieving them! I see no harm in applying that to personal goals!

• Give attention to what you want. Don't write about what it is and stop there. Take it one step further and write about how you feel working towards attaining it! That'll serve two purposes: 1) It will remind you daily about what your goal is, keeping it fresh in your mind, and 2) It will make you feel good about it, which makes you then put out that positive vibe that will hopefully bring more positivity in your life. Again, believe in it or not, what harm can come from thinking consistently and positively about what you want to achieve?!
  
  Some people may consider this step an affirmation. Affirmations don't always work though. With a typical affirmation, one might say, "I am good enough, smart enough, and people like me." (Bonus points to the person who knows where that line comes from!) The problem with that is, if a person really feels that they are NOT good enough and smart enough, self doubt will come into play and the only vibe that person will be putting out is a negative, doubtful one. To fix that, instead say, "I am excited at the idea of being good enough, smart enough..." We can all be truthful in saying that we are excited at the idea of achieving ____ and therefore, put out that positive vibe!

• Allow things to come into your life. The biggest barrier to allowing the Law of Attraction is doubt. Losier says that we must remove doubt in our lives to allow the Law to work more successfully for us. Again, believe in it or not, what harm can come from having a less pessimistic, more positive outlook. One exercise that he suggests is to list all of the ways the Law of Attraction has worked in our daily lives, no matter how big or how small. The more we do it, the more we will see that it really is working and that we really do have control over our happenstances. I think this activity is a simple idea. Again, what harm can come from acknowledging the good things that come into our lives!
  

So, with that, I am going to work towards writing at least one thing every day where the Law of Attraction has worked for me. Since this post is getting crazy long, I'll start with a new post for today's entry!

I Just Signed Up for a 10 Mile Race! Am I Crazy?

I just started really running again about 7 weeks ago. My goal for the YEAR is to run a half marathon which is 13.1 miles. I ran my first race, a 5K (3.1 miles) last weekend. I got so excited after completing the race, I started looking for more to run. While searching for 10K races, I stumbled upon a 10 mile race: The Hermes Cleveland 10-Miler. The more I read about it, the more I wanted to do it. Check out all the perks: It's chip timed, meaning the timing is accurate to the hundredth of a second (or something crazy like that,) all 10-miler participants get a tech shirt and a cool finisher's medal, there will be music playing all along the course, and there will be a post-race party at Cleveland's House of Blues with a live band. How fun! I looked at my training schedule to see if it's doable and it looks like it's actually within reason. See, every Saturday, I try to do an LSD (long, slow distance) run. Each week, I try to run 1/2 to 1 mile more than the previous week. Just last week, I ran over 6.5 miles. This coming weekend, I'll run 7 or maybe 7.5. The Hermes 10-Miler is 6 weeks away -- at this pace, by race day, I'm scheduled to run a 10 mile LSD anyway! So why not do it in a super fun atmosphere with lots of "free" goodies?! I say "free" because there is a $25 entrance fee, but with all the stuff I get, and compared to other races, $25 isn't too shabby. So, I can't believe it, but it looks like my next race is a 10-miler! That blows my mind! My goal for the YEAR is to run 13.1 in September, and I'm going to run a 10 in April? WHOA! If I can run 10 in April, 13.1 in September will be a breeze! Now all I have to do is convince myself that yes, I can do it! Wish me luck!

Another New Distance PR -- It's All Mental!

I went out today with a little trepidation over whether or not I could finish my 8 mile run, but....I DID IT! The weather was awesome today and I was psyched to push out the 8 miles. I chose a path that I was somewhat familiar so that I could concentrate on the run instead of being afraid of crazy psychos chasing after me! Since this was my longest run ever which I assumed would take definitely more than an hour, I took along my Sport Beans for an extra energy boost. I felt great on the first 4 miles, but decided to eat some beans to give me some energy to finish the last half of the run just in case. (BTW, the beans are by the makers of Jelly Belly beans which you know means that they are super yummy!) Well, after just 10 minutes of finishing my Sport Beans, I swear I felt a boost of energy! (It could have been all in my mind, but hey -- either way, I felt great!) After hitting mile 5, I could see the light at the end of tunnel. I just started counting down the miles from there and before I knew it, I had finished my 8 mile run (8.1 to be exact!)

What was funny was that after I got back from my run and got all cleaned up, I checked my email and saw a comment on my last blog post. The wise words of Kai reminded me that these types of runs are ALL mental. She is SOOOO right! Through the last half of my run, I kept thinking, my legs feel GREAT -- I'm not even tired! (Thank you magical Sports Beans!) Mentally though, I was having a harder time towards the end. I just kept focusing on something up ahead unti I reached it, then I would choose another point to get to. It was a great feeling though as I closed in on those last few miles! I was so happy to be finished, especially since I really felt like I still had some fuel in the tanks! I probably could've gone another mile or 2! I also was fairly pleased with my time. When I looked at the halfway point, my watch said about 39 minutes. I finished at 1 hour, 19 minutes which means I kept pretty much the same pace through the whole run! While that equals a pace of 9:50 which I'm not too thrilled about, this is the FIRST long run I've had where I've been able to maintain my pace through the whole run! Woo hoo! I am making progress!

While I was stretching, I was reflecting on my run thinking, "Wow, that was kind of tough. I don't know HOW I'm going to do 10 miles in just a few weeks!" But then I remembered that I did end feeling pretty good. I also thought about something I wrote in my training log just 7 weeks ago: "Goal was 4 miles, but could only do 3.6 -- don't know how I will EVER do 4!" Well, 7 weeks later and here I am running 8.1! It's all mental baby! I CAN do it...and so can you!

Join the Club?

As much as I do enjoy running alone, sometimes I miss the social aspect of running with a group. I remember in high school when I used to run cross country. Our coach would tell us to just go out and run for an hour and my friends and I would hit the trails and just gab (or even sing!) the whole time. It was so fun and that hour just flew by! It was also fun chatting about running and having someone to talk about your goals with. I mean, for each meet we would all set target times and cheer each other on towards reaching them. It was a great motivation and we built wonderful friendships. I do miss that! As great as my DH is about listening to my running rants, I'm also well aware that he does it because he loves ME, not running! And as far as running himself...well he'll be the first to mention that he just does not like running. He'll run a mile or so to get warmed up for a workout, but beyond that, he'd probably have to be chased by something ferocious to go any farther! Since none of my other close friends or family run, I was thinking about joining a running group.

I decided to look online at some local running stores to see if they sponsored anything. It turns out that as I checked out my local Fleet Feet's website, I was psyched to learn that they are beginning some training sessions. They have two different training groups, both of which are geared towards running a specific race. The first is a beginner's 5K but the second is for a half marathon! I thought, YES -- that's perfect for me! Then, check this out -- the specific race they are training for the Cleveland Clinic Health River Run Half Marathon! That is the EXACT race I wanted to run for my first half! (I mean, I've even already listed it in my "Races of 2008" blog list! Just look!)It's like destiny! So I clicked on the link to find out more. Here's what it basically says,

• Cost is $100 which includes all coaching, training schedule, clinics, support, "goodies" and race entry fee.
• Participants in the program also receive a 10% discount off all Fleet Feet purchases during the training period.
• The sponsor this year is Saucony and all registrants will receive a technical t-shirt, water bottle and a shoe bag.
• Group runs every Wednesday evening and Sunday morning.

What do you think? At first I was thinking the $100 was kind of steep, but then I saw that the $100 includes the race fee which I was assuming was going to be around $40-50 anyway. Then you get all kinds of stuff like the tech shirt, bottle, shoe bag and of course the coaching which I am kind of psyched for! It's one thing to prepare for a race by reading about it, but to have someone coaching you along the way is pretty cool! And to do it with a bunch of other people who all have the same goal -- very awesome! I mean, can you imagine how cool it will be on race day to run with people you've been training with and to cheer them on (and of course have a little cheering section for yourself too!) I'm pretty excited about checking it out. There's an informational meeting in about 4 weeks, so it's still pretty far off. The Fleet Feet store has group runs on Wed and Sun regardless though, so I think as soon as school is out (3 more weeks!) I'll go check it out! I think it'll be a great way to improve my running, and who knows, maybe I'll make some new friends too! :-)

I Survived My First 10 Mile Race!

Well, I survived it! Here is my official Hermes Cleveland 10-Mile Race Report.

When my DH and I arrived downtown, we met up with a friend of mine. We went to get our chip timers and to hopefully find a bathroom. Much to our dismay, the lines for the restroom were a mile long! We decided to try the porto-potties (ICK!) by the starting line, but when we got there, the line was even longer! With just 10 minutes left till the start, we figured we'd either have to just hold it, or find a very discreet spot! (We did the former!) Anyhow, as the race started, the clouds grew darker and the rain began spilling down upon us. I thought, "Oh GREAT!" Lucky enough though, the rain only last about 1-2 minutes and then it was done for the rest of the day. :-) Here's a break down of the rest of the race...from what I can remember!

Miles 1-3: Course went through the streets of Cleveland. Weather was great and course was flat. Tons of racers! I focused mostly on just setting a good pace and enjoying it. I still felt like I had to go to the bathroom, but I figured I could stop at a porto potty if I needed to more towards the end. (Turns out while I thought there were two porto stops, there was only one! I had no choice but to hold it!)

Miles 4-6: Ran on a long straitaway along Burke Lakefront Airport with the wind at my back. Felt great! Had some Sport Beans at about mile 5.

Miles 7-8: Ran back the other way with a strong headwind and all uphill! UGH! This is where I started depending on my trusty new Timex Ironman to get me through it. I just focused on getting though 1 mile or 10 minutes at a time. I also noticed too that my legs felt STRONG on those hills! I swear those Firm videos (AKA: Squat workouts from Hell) seriously prepared my legs to push up those hills with really little effort!

Mile 9-10: Steeper hill, but we were now back downtown so I knew I was close to the finish! I thought, this is it! I dug down and really pushed it in for the last mile. There was a really nice runner who had already finished and was standing on one of the streets. She was yelling to us all, "The finish line is right around this corner! You can do it!" I looked at my Timex and thought, "That can't be right -- my split for this mile is only 8 minutes...I still have another two minutes..." I trusted her though and really put it into gear. Sure enough, as soon as I turned that corner, I saw a huge crowd and the finish clock. I don't know what came over me, but I found a gear that I never knew existed and seriously sprinted to the finish! I heard the announcer say, "Whoa, look at this girl come in. And she just ran 10 miles folks!" I was so excited! I was happy too to see the clock and my Timex time which both had a time lower than my goal time! My goal time was 1:45 and my official finish time was...(drum roll)...1:39:35! Woo hoo! Not bad for three weeks off of serious running...bum knees...and seriously having to pee by that point!

Anyhow, here are my not-at-all-consistent splits via my Timex Ironman:

Mile 1: 9:50
Mile 2: 10:05
Mile 3: 9:57
Mile 4: 10:25
Mile 5: 9:40
Mile 6: 10:05
Mile 7: 10:05
Mile 8: 10:12
Mile 9: 10:24
Mile 10: 8:53 WHOA!

Thanks for reading my LONG RR. Didn't I say this was going to be short? Ooops! Sorry! :-)

WAIT, ONE LAST THING! I do want to take a moment to say how totally awesome my DH is! He drove down to the race with me today, carried an insane amount of my stuff, took the job as my personal photographer, and cheered for me the whole way! He told me how proud he was of me at least 10 times and even took me to Wendy's for a frosty after the race! I am so thankful to have such a supportive husband! THANK YOU! XOXOXO

Avoiding My Run!

I had such a bad day at work today! Actually, I hate to say it, but I've been having a couple of bad days now! The school year is coming to an end, and unfortunately, the kids think school is already over. "Who needs to do WORK?! Rules -- What are those? We're not here to learn -- we're here to chat with friends and hook up!" AHHHHHH! I'm pulling my hair out! And as much as they hate listening to me nag/yell at them, trust me, I hate having to do it! I'd love to just sit back at my desk and not be frustrated with the fact that I've asked them to be quiet 3x and they're STILL talking...I've asked them not to pass notes and there they are, passing them not more that 3 feet away...I've asked them to be where they're supposed to be, and yet instead I find them roaming the halls when there not supposed to, or even inviting kids from other classes into ours to chit chat. WHAT?! And then when I call them out on it, they're going to (a) lie through their teeth or (b) yell back at me?! Oh goodness. Anyways, today was enough to put me in a major funk. At the end of the day, once everyone left, I just put my head down on my desk. I did NOT want to lift it up! I contemplated doing my 4 mile run. At first I figured that I would just skip today and go running tomorrow. But then I remembered that I have a chiro appt tomorrow and won't be able to run. So, I begrudgingly marched to the closet/restroom and changed to go running. Just as I mustered the courage to walk out the back door, I noticed it looked a little gray out. The forecast said no rain until later... Well, as soon as I walked out, it started raining. I thought, "Well, this is my omen -- no running today." Well wouldn't you know it, by the time I drove to the end of my school's driveway, it had stopped raining! UGH! I thought, "Well, that's fine. I'll just run at home." Well after I got home, I still couldn't shake my bad school day. I was just so frustrated. I peeked at Accuweather and once I saw the radar and wind gusts, I decided to scrap my run. I probably should have gone, but oh well. I was just too mad! (It's hours later and I'm STILL fuming!) At least I only have a few more days left of school...14 school days to be exact.

Scrapbooking...Oh Yeah, I Remember That!

I used to love scrapbooking but haven't had time for it in a LONG time. I also got kind of bummed because it seemed like a didn't have any fun stuff going on to scrapbook about! That's when I started doing little projects. Those were fun. The last one I did was a set of letters that I altered for our guest room. They turned out a little more "girly" than I had planned, but oh well! I had fun making them!


Now that we are in November, I know that Christmas is right around the corner. Every year I say that I am going to make my own cards. I am hoping this year I will actually do it! I think it'll be a fun project!

Is It Time for A Hobby Switch?

AHHH, it has been a week since my last post. Very bad -- and it has been even longer since I've posted any crafty stuff. WHOA. And here it is...the first symptom of what I've deemed, "the hobby switch". My husband laughs at me about this, but I just can not stick with one hobby for any long period of time. For awhile, I was really into my fishtank and aquascaping. That kept my busy through the winter, but once spring came around, I was all about gardening. When fall came, that went to the wayside and I got into knitting. After about 20 scarves, I got into scrapbooking. Love that, but lost some of my mojo and started reading. Read about 20 books in two months and then started scrapbooking again. The winter months were still waning on though and I missed plants, so I started growing African Violets...lots of them! Now they are doing their own thing and I tried to get back into scrapbooking. Not a lot of pics to scrap though, so I started making cards. Well, that's been fun, but now I have this goal to run a 1/2 marathon, so now running has become my new obsession. In the past three weeks, I bought new running shoes, clothes, and have subscribed to Runner's World mag. Until I get it, I've been reading back issues from the library. What's funny about all of this though, is that I totally focus ALL of my energy into that one hobby of the moment. Since I finished those scarves, haven't picked up a needle since then. Since I finished my last of those 20 books, not a single one since then. I have been all or nothing baby!

Through all of my "hobby switches" though, I have always run. Maybe not so much in the winter, but while it's nice out, I usually try to get in 2-4 miles every other day. It's only now that I'm really started to think competitively about it again. SO, I am hoping this isn't a TOTAL "hobby" switch. For one, I'd like to think that running isn't just a "hobby" for me. I've been running off and on since high school, which for me has been about 10 years. It's the one thing I've stuck with to some degree this whole time. I'd like to think it is more of a lifestyle for me. I am hoping with this new goal, that will solidify it for me. The other reason I hope this isn't a "hobby switch" for me is simply because I still like scrapping and cardmaking. I just need to make sure to find time for it in between work, keeping this endlessly messy house clean, (how does that happen with just two people living here?!,) and running. Wish me luck!

Anyhow, here is an Easter card I made a few weeks back. It's actually cuter in person. I used some spring themed paper I got a Target.

I hope to have more to share soon!

Why Am I Doing This Again?!

Today was the second speedwork day of my training plan so far. The first traning session was terrible. The track was covered in snow, so I had to do it on an unmarked path. I only had my Nike+iPod to help me. I had two big problems: (1) I miscalculated the distance and instead of running 800s, was running 750s, (2) I could not judge or calculate my pace -- it was all over the place! Using the timer on my iPod was too hard while running. Mistake #1 I can live with -- 50 meters -- no biggie. Mistake #2 -- well if you are running the speedwork "laps" at all different times, well, that kind of defeats the purpose! I think I was running them too fast because I couldn't even finish the last one. :-(

Well, luckily the track was clear today so I was able to do my speedwork there. I started with a mile warmup which was a breeze and then started my first 800 meters (1/2 mile) run. I had my trusty $10 Walmart watch to help me keep time and that worked WAY better. I had the goal time of 4:00-4:14 minutes per 800 in my mind. I hit my first one at 4:04. Not bad. It wasn't too fun though. I took a 400m recovery jog and tried my next 800 -- hit that one at 4:06 but it was tough! When I finished that 800, I didn't even think about it -- I automatically started walking after crossing the line! NOT in the plan! I let myself walk a little though, then started jogging again. Too make a long story short, I pushed myself through the next two 800 meter sets with times of 4:09, then 4:14. It was really hard and I had to use a lot of positive "atta girl!" self talk.

At one point, I actually thought, "What in the world am I doing out here?! Nobody else is here...I'm not training on a team so it's not like anyone is depending on me...And yet here I am, pushing myself through complete discomfort / mild agony to do what? Run faster? For who?!" I didn't come up with any obvious answers, except of course, "For me!" My husband and family could care less how fast I run an 800 in. They'd love me just as much whether I ran them in 2 min, 4 min or 10min! (And I am very thankful for that!) My friends, while supportive, could care less -- none of them really run. So again, why am I out here? I guess the answer, "FOR ME!" will have to suffice for now!

Wilton Cake 1: Please Don't Laugh!

So yesterday was my first real Wilton 1 Decorating Class. I say, real, because for the first one, we just watched our instructor decorate. Last night, we finally got to play with some frosting! Before that though, I had to bake and frost a cake. I baked the cake on Tuesday, and headed over to my friend's house the following day to frost the cake and prepare our icings before class. So it was me and four other girls and we thought 2 1/2 hours would be pleeeenty of time to do all that. Yeah... not so much!

As soon as we all arrived, we immediately started making the frosting. A few people worked on that, while the rest of us trimmed the cakes, cut them into layers, filled the cake, then stacked the layers. (I filled mine with a lemon meringue pudding. YUM and super easy!) Once the cakes were all set, we finally started icing. We quickly found out that one bowl of frosting was not going to be enough. DUH! We started making frosting like crazy! Confectioners sugar was flying everywhere! It was hilarious! Well once we had enough, we continued frosting. The instructor made it look so easy when she showed us. For some reason, mine didn't quite look like hers! :-) None of my other friend's cake did either, so we all just laughed! After that, we speedily made our colored icings while stuffing pizza in our faces. We cleaned up, packed our bags, and raced out the door without a minute to spare.

As I ran out to my car, I placed my cake on the roof of the car to arrange all of my supplies inside. I placed my keys in the ignition and was just about to rev her up and I remembered my cake! I nearly drove off with my cake still on the roof! AHHH! I would have totally cried if anything happened to my cake! Luckily, I saved it though. After grabbing my cake, I finally headed over.

Once we got to JoAnns, we set up and got to work. Long story short, the instructor had us practice making stars and writing letters. Let's just say that I have a whole new appreciation for the girls at our local bakery! :-) We finally got to work on our cakes. I wanted to just make some fall leaves. We had more trouble than I thought sharing the icings in the time we had, so I just used two colors of leaves instead of three. I didn't place my leaves on the way I wanted to either. Oh well! I also seem to run out of time too. I wanted to put a top border and a bottom border, but I was only to finish my final leaf with a few minutes to spare. I could have put on the border if I REALLY wanted to, but I have to admit, I was pretty tired by then. After a long day's work, a crazy cake frosting episode, and a two hour class, by 8:30, I was D.O.N.E!


While the people over at Ace of Cakes, or even, my local grocery store bakery are nowhere near in danger of losing a job to ME, I think my cake turned out at least half way decent. I still think it looks like a 4 year old did it, but everyone keeps saying it looks good. They must feel sorry for me! Oh well, I can only improve from here, right?!

My Shows are Finally Back!

Okay, this is totally not running related. I just wanted to say how happy I am that my shows are finally back on! Tonight, I will be plopped on my couch wathing Lost. I have been watching that show from the very beginning and just love all the individual story lines and the twists and turns. Can't wait to see what'll happen tonight! Friday night is a new show I've been watching -- Moonlight. This is it's first season and while the premise is a little out there (the main character is a vampire,) I am totally drawn into the show! I find the inner conflict the main character goes through pretty compelling, and of course the forbidden love thing is always fun. Oh yeah, did I mention...the main character is very easy to look at! OMG, I can not help but smile like a giddy school girl every time I watch the show! It's so difficult to watch it too because usually my DH watches with me and I try my best NOT to let him know that I am basically mesmerized by this guy on tv. Anytime my DH finds out that I think some guy is good looking, he has to make a HUGE deal about it! He'll spend the whole entire show saying stuff like, "Oh, there's your man! Look out, here he comes! Maybe you'll be lucky and he'll take his shirt off for you!" Oh, did I mention that he'll do that through the WHOLE show! It gets super annoying. It gets to the point that I don't even want to watch the stupid show anymore. So anyhow, DH, if you're reading this -- yes, I think the guy is a looker. Now let's move on! :-)

Healthy Recipe #1: Zucchini and Chicken Salad

As promised, here is a healthy recipe I'd love to pass on. It's one of my DH's favorite summertime salads. It's pretty easy to make, is tasty and very healthy.

Zucchini and Chicken Salad
(From: Everyday Food’s Great Food Fast)

Serves 4

Ingredients

¼ cup plus 1 tablespoon olive oil
¼ cup fresh lemon juice
1¼ pounds zucchini, thinly sliced
1 pound boneless, skinless chicken breasts
1 bunch (8 oz) spinach, roughly chopped
½ red onion, thinly sliced
¾ cup chopped pecans
¼ cup grated parmesan cheese
¼ cup chopped fresh mint


Directions

• In a large bowl, whish together ¼ cup of the olive oil, the lemon juice, and the salt and pepper to taste. Add the zucchini; toss to coat, and let marinate while cooking the chicken.
• In a large nonstick skillet, heat the remaining tablespoon of olive oil over medium heat. Season the chicken with salt and pepper. Cook until golden brown on both sides, about 6-7 minutes per side. Remove from skillet, allow to cool, and slice thinly.
• Toss the chicken with the zucchini mixture, spinach, red onion, pecans, parmesan cheese, and mint. Serve, eat, and say YUM!