The Sweet Runner

New Blog-->

2014-02-13T17:40:00.000-08:00

Check it out.......

I started a new blog to go along with new life changes. I'm still blogging on food and running(when I have time). Although, this winter weather hasn't really allowed for me to do much, especially with Panda Cub in tow.

Feel free to follow me!

My life as I know it has changed

2013-09-13T08:54:00.001-07:00

Well, summer has come and gone, so to speak. The weather hasn't really shown that, but everyone has gone back to school. Roads are busier, but parks and neighborhoods are a little quieter.

Today, however is a beautiful fall day. I haven't been able to sit on our front porch since the early spring, before mosquitos and the wonderful humidity and heat that DC brings. The sun is shining, the wind is blowing, the humidity is perfect and my lil "panda cub," as we call her is fast asleep in her rocker on the porch. The only way it could be more perfect is if my husband was sitting here with us and maybe if I had a glass of wine;-)

Today is perfect. I sit here now, typing for the first time in months. I probably won't have time again once December hits, but we'll see. I will try to do my best.

As my title of my post states, my life has changed. Anyone who has become a mother/father knows what I am talking about. I told someone the other day that you can't really ever be fully prepared to be a parent. You can read books, take classes, talk to other parents and buy all the "right" items. But, once that lil one comes along, you basically throw everything out. You learn together. We, Charlotte and I are learning together each day. We are not perfect and what works one day will maybe not work the next. I don't claim to be an expert on Mommydom, as my lil one is only 3 weeks and 2 days old at this point (man time is flying). I desperately try and capture each moment, which at this point is mainly sleeping, but soon enough she'll be mobile. I love every second with her, although there are times that are trying, it doesn't mean I love her any less.

I told my husband the other day that it's no wonder it kills parents when their child "goes astray," you love them with your utmost being, with all that you are and would breath and die for this child. Ha, even as I type those words, tears come to my eyes (hormones are partially to blame). :-)

The lil lady who has stolen our hearts!

Charlotte Sophia

Born: August 21, 2013

Time: 11:34

Weight: 6 lbs 5 oz

Absolute perfection!

What I Ate Wednesday....

2013-03-06T16:59:00.002-08:00

Hello Again Blogging World.....

I've been MIA for the past month and actually haven't been as dedicated as I should be. It's pretty much laziness as far as I am concerned which is sad. So here's to hoping that I can really truly get back into the swing of things.

Today we were supposed to have a "Snowstorm" here in the DC metro area. I was sooo super excited because if you know anything about me, you know that I ~~like~~ love snow! The kiddos and I were discussing yesterday whether or not we'd get snow and of course us teachers were praying that we wouldn't have school.

Fast forward to this morning about 6:00 am, at this point I have overslept if I do actually have work. I check the county's website and win! No school! So of course I look outside and what do I see?! NOTHING! That's pretty much how today went. Huge flakes would fall and quickly and then the rain would come. I know that there were areas that got snow, just not ours. What a disappointing winter.

Alas, I guess I am truly ready for spring now.

Since we didn't have school, Gary cooked breakfast, pancakes and bacon. Yum! I also had a couple cups of hot chocolate...perfect on a non-snowy day :-(

Lunch: Salad bar from Harris Teeter

Snack: Banana

Dinner: London broil, baked potato and green beans

So, what did y'all eat?

Did you get the snow that I so desperately wanted?!

A Weekend in the Burgh

2013-01-28T14:38:00.000-08:00

One of my best friends lives in Pittsburgh. I wish she lived closer, but at least she lives in a cool city. The Megabus also goes there so I don't have to drive.

I had off Friday and Monday so I could leave early Friday Morning, which was great since it was like a 6 hour ride. I of course arrived late and ended up not having a seat to myself, or even a window, totally bumming.

Now, if you know me, I love to eat. So of course I had to eat my way around Pittsburgh. For dinner, we went to this noodle place called Noodlehead in Shadyside. I ordered the pad thai, with a spice of 2, I think it goes up to 5, with 5 being blazing hot! It was actually plenty spicy, I didn't have to add anything extra, actually I am pretty sure I downed 6 glasses of water. T and I also ordered a Ginger beer to split the bottle labeled it "hot, hot, hot." Yeah, that did not help calm the fire that was burning in my mouth. However, it did meet my need for a good ginger beer. A good ginger beer should not be able to be chugged, it should be sipped because of the spice. Oh, we also ordered these pork belly steamed buns, with some type of pickle slaw, soooo delish!

After dinner T and I had a few hours to chilax before we went to see Les Miserables. The theater was super cute and the food was super cheap compared to normal AMC/Regal prices. They also had a full bar. Winning! Then after consuming a medium popcorn we headed over to the all night diner, yup and ordered more food. I love diners and cheap food. I got a caramel sundae, YUM! and mozzarella sticks, yes the perfect sweet/salty, hot/cold combo. I think I gained like 5 lbs that weekend.

Does this look staged?!

We slept in Saturday morning and then went for our 6 mile run. I signed my girl up for the DC half marathon in March, so I have her on a training regiment and she's been so good about sticking to it. I however, haven't been all that diligent. My running buddy, aka my husband, does not always like to run and I don't enjoy going on longer runs solo. C'est la vie. We ran along the river, highway, over a bridge and through a cute town.

Dinner that night I had made a early birthday reservation for T at Lidia's Italian Restaurant, Lidia is apparently Joe from Master Chef's mother(I learn something new every day). Teresa got the restaurant week special, four course meal and I got the Lidia's Pasta Tasting Trio served table side(unlimited servings), with Caesar salad and dessert.

The Breadsticks were delish!

Teresa had a roasted yellow and red beet salad with goat cheese. Soo the "it" thing right now. Too bad I think red beets tasted like dirt.

Her second Primi was homemade ravioli with roasted almonds(I forget what was inside, was it butternut squash?)

Her main dish, chicken parmesan with eggplant.

My trio of pastas, rigatoni with meat and parpadelle with vodka sauce and peas and a 4 cheese ravioli with a browned butter sauce and freshly cracked black pepper- that was my fav!

Final course: Dessert

T got Tiramisu and I torta di mascarpone con cioccolatta.

Sunday Morning we had brunch

I had the Challah french toast with fresh berries and a fig jam, potatoes and the most delish bacon. Teresa had crepes with asparagus and a cream mushroom sauce, also with potatoes.

Later that afternoon, prior to departure we decided to visit the Andy Warhol Museum. Let's just say he isn't one of my favorites. I am more of a impressionist lover, Monet, Degas, Renoir...

Highlights of 2012

2013-01-08T16:49:00.000-08:00

Better late than never......

You know, I can't really complain about how 2012 went. I have my health, my loved ones a job that I like.....well, most of the time. :-)

But....if I had to break it down to a handful of my favorite parts of 2012 these are some of them:

January 2012:

Began with dinner with some great friends. A quiet evening with plenty of food.

March 17th 2012:

Ran my first half marathon, Rock n' Roll DC half, which of the three I have run, was my best time. I was also well prepared for it, despite the "hills."

April, Spring Break 2012:

Our first vacation with friends. Usually we vacay solo. This time we went with two other teacher couples. Works well when you have the same schedules. We went to Jamaica, the cheapest we could find. There are never any spring break specials, always before and after for us.

May 2012:
Ran Race for Hope, in memory of my dad with two of my best friends at their inaugural run!

June 24th 2012:

Celebrated our 6th anniversary in one of my favorite cities, NYC! We stayed at Grand Hyatt above Grand Central Station. It's super modern and super convenient to everything, we also saw Newsies!!! And, got to "meet" some of the cast members and got my pictures with them.

August 2012

Hit up Rehoboth beach. I heart the beach and we had so much. Hope we can relive it again this year.

-oh yeah, and..... my dirty 30! My bestie, Meg took the train in and we got out nails did, I also got some eyelash extensions. I felt super glamourous.

Sold our condo!

End of September 2012

Moved into our new HOUSE!

October 2012

Got our corgi puppy, Pepe. Gary said, as soon as we got a house we could get a corgi. He's super calm and super sweet. Love that little bundle of fur. Thankfully all the pets get along.

Dec 31 2012

Cut down our first ever Christmas tree!

Ended the year with some great friends, the same two who we started the year with. This time we went out to eat. Melting pot, time to loosen the belts, oh yeah, and wallets.

Last cooked meal of 2012

2013-01-03T13:49:00.001-08:00

I have started to dedicate my Fridays to preparing fun meals.

We haven't been home since before Christmas break, much needed by the way. But the last meal that I made my hubby and I was a rack of lamb. I've never made it before. I've always wanted to, ever since I saw Matthew McConaughey prepare it for Kate Hudson in "How to Lose a Guy in 10 Days." One of my all time favorite movies by the way.

So, the last time I was at our new Costco I saw a lil baby rack. Thought, what the hey..... and voila.....

I got the sides and herbs at the local market: Eastern Market, one of my favorite places to shop on the Hill.

I purchased fresh rosemary and oregano for the rub. I chopped it up and mixed in some EVOO. I also chopped up some garlic to add to the rub. The longer it sits, the more the flavors seep in, however, I was only able to let it marinate for an hour or so. However it still had tons of flavor. I also cross scored the meat so that I could rub the mixture into the cuts.

I also bought fingerling potatoes. I also brushed them with some of the rub, added some additional smashed cloves of garlic and sprinkled with kosher salt. I started roasting them up first because I hate when my potatoes aren't cooked enough.

Green bean almondine, I boiled the beans with again, some smashed cloves of garlic. Are you getting that I love garlic?!

Toasted almonds - yeah toaster oven

OF course I took a picture of my chopped garlic!

There it is just coming out of the oven. Beauty eh?!

Voila!

Dinner a la me

2012-12-11T14:05:00.002-08:00

The other night I made dinner for my hubs.

Don't get too excited, I really didn't have the energy to be that creative.

Here's what I made:

Brussel Spouts

I typically parboil my brussels first so that they cook all the way through and a little faster. Then, I roasted them in some chopped garlic, oil and sea salt.

I also fried up some bacon and toasted the chopped walnuts in the bacon grease(yes, I know, not exactly healthy, shame on me!)

Then, I tossed them all together, YUMMERS!

I also made boiled potatoes, boring I know.

For dessert, Ghiradelli brownies! Yes Please!

Beautiful sear on my steak, thanks to the hubs. Usually I grill, but it was displaced, as in not right outside my back door.

Here's the finished product. Grilled steak, boiled potatoes and roasted brussels with bacon and walnuts- I think that was the most exciting part of the dinner.

Later this week I'm going to dabble in grilling a rack of lamb. If anyone has any tips....and or recipes....send them my way!

Oh a hunting we will go

2012-12-08T13:26:00.000-08:00

Here we go, on our adventure. I suppose venturing out into the forest would be much more adventurous, but never-the-less the Christmas Tree Farm is good enough for us city dwellers.

We decided that we would go and cut down our tree. I, of course researched what was the best type of tree to cut down, which one would last the longest and of course smell amazing. It seems like firs have the best scent and that a concolor fir would last the longest. Unfortunately when we got to the tree farm they stated that they only had about 12 of those trees left. So, instead I decided to trek down another tree. We ended up with a balsam fir, after much hunting for the "perfect" tree. We aren't very tall people and with a step stool I can just barely reach the top.

Pulling while Gary saws away.

V-I-C-T-O-R-Y

We went with our good friends, John and Jenna, our trees were not far away from each other. We did however both underestimate how wide our trees were. Out in nature they look so small.....

Family photo opportunity prior to cutting it down.

It took Gary and John awhile to saw down those trees. I think the saws that they provided have been dulled by the many uses.

Gary and John working diligently to cut down their tree.

I had to buy a lot more ornaments at my favorite arts and crafts store, Michael's. We, of course has none except, our special ornaments. Gary and I have gone to NYC every Christmas and have since 2002. We usually buy a special ornament from Sax or Bergdorf - it's about the only thing that we can afford there, but it's now part of our tradition....can you tell that I love traditions?! Gary has also begun to buy me a special Hallmark ornament each year, which I dearly treasure. So, almost a week after buying our tree it is finally officially complete!

Ta-da!

Apparently the animals also enjoy the beauty of the tree, or maybe the just feel like they are outside. Thankfully, no one has tried to climb it and or pee on it.

It's the most wonderful time...

2012-12-02T17:01:00.003-08:00

In case you weren't aware, I am a big fan of the Christmas season. I love the lights and the red and green colors and.....now I finally have a house house, so to speak which I can decorate to my hearts content. Well without going overboard. I love that the city is being decorated for Christmas. It in no way can compare to NYC, but, as Patrick Stump says, "This City, is my City."

This picture is from Union Station. They have 3 huge wreaths hanging up out front. I love how many lights adorn it.

Here are our decorations. :-) We have stairs! Which means I get to decorate the banister with my lit garland. I can't decide whether or not I want to put up Christmas stockings, will it be too much?

We have lots of windows, well 5 in the front and I've always wanted to hang wreaths on the windows. I made the bows all by my self, no pre-made ribbons. Let's just hope that they stay together. I also wired on the little decorations. I didn't create them, but my good ol' friend Michael's did:-)

Michaels and I have become good friends(the arts and crafts store). We don't have a dining room table yet, so I can't buy table cloths or center pieces, yet...don't worry, it will come. My one friend has inspired me to be a little more crafty this season and do some DIY projects. I originally purchased wooden letters (N-O-E-L), which I would paint and then hang on ribbons, but I couldn't figure out a place to display them, so instead I bought some canvas and some acrylic paint and voila! I'm excited to paint more! It is kind of therapeutic.

We also have a little Christmas tree that used to be our only Christmas tree, but this year we'll get the real deal. My mother decorated it all up, she's super crafty.

And....of course I can't decorate without my poinsettia.

We have a front porch too. I got a whole bunch of Christmas tree branches from the hardware store and started to make my own garlands. I'm waiting for my mother to come to help me out a little more. Hopefully she can work her artistic magic. I also have a TON of lights that I purchased from Target to use on the porch. AND.....Sunday we are going to start a new tradition and cut down our first Christmas tree. I've been doing my research. We're going with our good friends, Jenna and John. I'll post pictures of our adventure.

Tis the season

2012-11-29T20:09:00.005-08:00

Well, it's almost December..... which means:

Red and Green decorations

Baking cookies (prepare for recipes to come)

Secret Santa

Christmas scented candles

Running in Cold weather...brr....but I love it! I busted out the cold weather gear yesterday. It was actually cold enough to see my breath. Cold weather def takes my breath away, but I felt pretty good yesterday considering.

Saturday I hiked with the hubs, SIL and future BIL with our dogs, the pup, Pepe, Belle and their hunting dog, Leroy- or as we like to call him, Leh-roy(accent on leh). We didn't do anything too extensive. It was cold and Pepe has short little legs, but he was a trooper and did really well, we even let him off leash.

BTW I hope everyone had a wonderful Thanksgiving, full of Turkey and family and friends. The only thing I was not thankful for was the amount of traffic we hit going up to the in-laws. In boredom, we let Pepe drive. He'd be great, if only his legs would reach the peddles.

After our cold and longish hike we went home and had lunch. Then we went to play Turkey Tackle, AKA football. Boys could tackle boys and girls could tackle girls. Unfortunately there weren't that many girls playing maybe one on each team. There were four teams, which meant we had to play several games and of course it started to flurry whilest we played. Let's just say, when the QB did actually did throw to a girl, me, I sucked and had super buttery fingers. Bumming, at least I'm ok at defense, mostly. I missed a tackle on my SIL. Our last game that we played I was to guard some guy named "Big Country." Yes, it's exactly how it sounds and man could he run and cut all over. Fortunately I didn't have to tackle him, just two-hand touch him. But let me tell you, I was SORE afterwards for a few days which is crazy because I wasn't tackled and no one tackled me. I felt like I had run a 1/2 marathon. Oh, my old age!

Favorite Parts of this Season

2012-10-30T12:11:00.002-07:00

~Fall~

Fall is not my favorite season although there are definitely aspects of every season that I love.

Favorites of this season:

-apple picking
- barlett pears
- the beautiful leaves, as they change color
-cooler weather
-cute scarves
-boots
- pumpkins

I told Gary to hold up a pumpkin, this is what he chose(he clearly hates pictures). And yes, there were bugs coming out of that disgusting thing. Sorry pumpkin, you are unwanted.

I feel like I should be wearing Snow White's evil stepmother's costume and maybe not smiling. Just one little bite.

Since Gary and I had off today(thanks Hurricane Sandy) I thought it perfect to carve our pumpkins, well pumpkin, it took me forever just to do one. In hindsight I probably should have started yesterday.

We have a bunch of pumpkin stencils, but we've used most of them. I bought one of those kits a few years ago that came with two carving knives and a scoop. Gary always gets frustrated that it doesn't scoop well so this year I bought a large metal scoop with "teeth" from Michaels. A lot easier I believe.

I give him the job of opening up the top and scooping out the inside. Then it is up to me to trace on the design and use my meticulous cutting skills to carve our pumpkin.
For some reason I wanted to a Disney Pumpkin. I love everything Disney! I really do love Disney World too, I almost think it is better without kids. haha, maybe I'm wrong......Here's my finished product. It needs a little more fine tuning, there is still a lot of pulp.

I also get the joy of cleaning off all the pulp from the seeds and seasoning and roasting them. I love roasted pumpkin seeds. If you have never done it before, you should. You can season them with all different toppings.

This year I did half with cayenne and half with garlic.

Of course they are all seasoned with melted butter and salt. You can of course substitute oil for the butter. But there is just something about the taste of real butter.

So as I speak those delicious little seeds are roasting away in the oven, smells super yummy!

What are your favorite things to do in the fall?

Attempting to outrun Sandy

2012-10-29T19:27:00.000-07:00

First of all, sooo thankful that Hurricane Sandy didn't rear her ugly wetness until later yesterday evening!

I was praying that we wouldn't be running in a torrential downpour. I am pretty sure that the other 2 people running "with" me would have dropped out. They would have however been forced to be a spectator and would have gotten soaked anyway.

I figured if it was raining, maybe, just maybe it would make me run faster. You know because I was so miserable from the rain and or coldness. Thankfully we didn't have to find out if it would have made me run faster.

Meg and I picked up our packets kinda late on Saturday. Usually I like to get to the Expos earlier, a few more freebies and what not. But she couldn't make it down until Saturday and I was pretty busy the last few days.

I actually didn't buy much. I know right, shocking!! I did however purchase a new running skirt. It's super cute, has all the different runs that a person can do, 10K, 13.1, 70.3....most of them I will never do, but one can dream right?!

No one wanted to wake up yesterday morning and Gary is super grumpy pants early in the morning, especially when he doesn't get his coffee. Thankfully the race was here in DC so we didn't have to get up so early I couldn't function.

Last year Gary and I signed up for the MCM 10K, this was our first "long" race and from there we've done the 10 miler and half marathon. I think that the 10K is one of my favorites. I always get teary eyed during this race. People's shirts are just so touching and the people running the race are quite inspiring. If veterans can accomplish amazing feats, than I can do a measly 6.2 miles. I also admire marathoners. I often think "I could do it." and sure, I "could" do it, but I'm not sure I want to do it. Not to mention that both after and during a 1/2 marathon I do not feel that I could do a full. LOL!

Since we've moved to our new place (which, so far is water proof) the metro is much closer and thankfully the metro line by us ran us straight to the starting line. This year was not as cold as it was last year, thankfully. Last year Gary and I had to buy extra clothing as it snowed the day before and we were not "experienced" runners. And yes people, it is true, bridges do freeze before the roads. We slipped and slid around last year. I ran in leggings, gloves, head ear warmer thing. This time, I wore a new skirt, from running skirts. They were at the Expo and my green Northface long sleeve shirt. I also wore my my Fit Approach pink shoe laces!

Does anyone else always have to go to the bathroom when you get to a race?! I do! It's annoying and despite going multiple times at home when I see those green rectangle boxes my bladder goes, "take me there!" However, yesterday, when I saw the lines....I told myself I could suck it up, that there would be other potties along the way. HA! That's one complaint. There were not enough port-o-potties. At mile 5 there were tons, but I think only because that was around where the marathon began. So I took a little detour which included opening the door on some poor unsuspecting victim, though I do say it was his own fault since he didn't even lock it! Positive: Love having the Marines out supporting all the runners "Ooorah!"

So proud of my girl Meg! In May she and my other bestie T did their first run with me the Race for Hope 5K supporting brain tumor research. This was her first longish run and I am not trying to convince her to do that 1/2 in March. If you are reading this, DO it! Sign up, here's the link for a little extra help:-)

I enjoyed this run. Tons of people, lots of energy. I also enjoy running on the highway lol. I did PR too. Pretty excited about that! And victory Sandy stayed away so that all marathoners an 10Kers could finish safely!

A few pictures from the day.
On your mark, get set, GO!

Inspiration!

Finished, there's my boo waiting for me!

So proud of my girl! You do it! Now get ready for our half marathon!

This is how I felt afterwards....too bad I couldn't do too much of that and instead had to prepare for Hurricane Sandy!
Looks like he just ran 6 miles haha, if only. The day will come my little friend when you will be my running buddy. Get ready!

Life Updates

2012-10-07T13:57:00.001-07:00

Good Morning!

So the last few weeks have been a blur, boxes, tape, chaos. We moved last weekend to a townhouse here in DC. We had sold our condo in August and were just renting it from the girl who bought it for the month of September. For some reason mortgage companies and everyone prefer to settle at the ends of the months, which make it just more of the waiting process for all of us. So many hoops to jump through and people to contact and papers to sign and information to be sent. Thankfully everything went smoothly.

We were able to start moving stuff in a week before we closed which was a huge blessing seeing that we own WAY too much for two people who just moved out of a 2 bedroom condo and into a 3 story home. At least Gary now gets his man cave.....of course it will be a major work in progress.

We now have outdoor space! So excited. We have a front porch which I have ALWAYS wanted and we have a balcony off of our master which I am currently sitting on early this morning- it's quiet and there is a nice breeze, almost gives the feeling of being at the beach. We have french doors on our master, which I NEVER thought I would have unless I moved out to the burbs. The builder did a great job. He's a local, grew up here and now is giving back to the community by fixing up and selling run down homes. Only problem is, I didn't get curtains yet, so sun up, sun in eyes! I did by myself a rather dashing looking eye mask...... the curtains should be coming sometimes next week. Ahh the joys of being a new home owner.

Being a new homeowner, with lots more space....means that I want to fill it! I want the outdoor furniture and the dining room table and the sofa for the basement. I was hoping that more furniture would be on-sale at the end of this season, but so far I haven't found any great deals. I know, I don't need it all immediately, besides Christmas is coming.....it's just hard I want it all done, but that's just who I am.

So if you know of any stores and or websites with clearance on their patio furniture, please let me know!!

The master bedroom is mostly done I got us new bedding and duvet, the guest room looks like a tornado hit it, as does the basement. Those areas are not frequented often as of now. The first floor is coming along nicely. But SO much hardwood, which I love, don't get me wrong, but with the pets= lots of hair, especially since we now also have ceiling fans. Blows EVERYWHERE! I told G that I need a roomba or something like that.

Does anyone have one of those robotic vacuums like to roomba or the neato?

The neato looks super old school, but apparently scans the room and moves back and forth whereas the roomba kinda goes all over with no rhyme or reason.
I know that Bed Bath and Beyond also has one that has received good reviews, but it's more of a mop and not a vacuum. I know that it will completely take away vacuuming, but at least will prevent me from having to do it daily.

So that's what has been keeping me mostly occupied, that and working.

Rock N' Roll Philly Half

2012-09-19T15:38:00.001-07:00

Well, I just completed my 3rd half marathon. Surprisingly it wasn't my worst time, considering. My first was this past March and it was another Rock n' Roll 1/2 here in DC. The hubs and I did pretty good training wise. It's also always helpful to have someone who runs with you. I was really surprised with my time especially since we had some hills. I think it was 2:19, no world record that's for sure.

In June I ran the Zooma Women's 1/2 and trained, but again not as well as I probably could have. I ended up getting something like 2:35 or something along those lines. There were a lot more hills than I had expected.

This last one was also a Rock n' Roll 1/2 and with summer's here being so hot and humid it made it difficult to run outside. I have also quit the gym because I feel that it is a waste of money and if I want to take a class or go once in awhile it's cheaper to do it that way than to pay a monthly membership. I only ran up to 7 miles while training for this 1/2 which is no where near what I wanted to get to. My goal was to get to 10, maybe 11. Thankfully we had BEAUTIFUL weather AND Philly is quite flat, HUGE blessing!

I didn't run with water this time just with my GU and iphone. I did stop at every water station though. I found that putting GU in my pocket makes it easier for me to take them because it warms them up and makes them a little easier to swallow. They handed me an orange GU at around mile 9. That was NOT good. I have to stick to the chocolate and vanilla ones.

High School Friend, Abby, actually I've known her since 3rd grade! That's what like 22 years?!

On your mark, get set....and major traffic jam

Barefoot Runner

Loving the run under bridges and along side the water.

Originally we planned on staying with my mother outside of Philly and then traveling in real early Sunday morning. Thankfully Gary decided that staying in Philly in a hotel would be better for both of our sanities. We ended up staying at the Hilton Garden down on Arch and 11th right across the street from the convention center where packet pick up was and right next to Reading Market. There was also the added bonus of the Wawa right across the street. It was prime location in my mind. I also found a cheap manicure place right around the corner. I got a $25 OPI gel manicure, usually in DC it costs $40.

You could choose the comfort of your mattress....wish ours did that.

I didn't end up with the worst time in the world. I got 2:26. Next year I will definitely train harder. I'm hoping that for the one in March next year I'll be much more ready, especially since I know the hubs will be running it with me.

It was fun because I knew a few friends running it, all of whom are faster than I, but we didn't stick together. My one friend from HS and I started together and ran a mile and then I told her just to go. This was also a special run because my mother was able to come with one of her best friends. She's never seen me run and I thought it would be neat for her to experience a 1/2 marathon and all the participants.

I felt good for the majority of my run. I didn't hit a major wall until about mile 11. And...thankfully my feet didn't fall asleep as badly as they sometimes do. It was really gorgeous running there along the river.

When the Moon hits your eye

2012-09-18T13:27:00.000-07:00

Like a big pizza pie, that's amore.

I sure enjoy pizza, I could eat it for breakfast, lunch and dinner. Not just any pizza though. I mean the fast food chains, Dominos, Papa Johns, are ok, but NOTHING is like NY and NJ style pizza. I don't know what it is. I think I've posted about pizza in the past.

There aren't really any good places in DC, although the jumbo slices in Adam's Morgan taste good, but only after having a couple drinks ;-)

Anywho, here's my review of H & Pizza

A few weeks ago, another new restaurant opened up on our favorite street, H Street. It's called H & Pizza. It's a "fast" food pizza place the supports local farmers, the pizzas are not pre-made and everything is fresh.

Perhaps it is because they are new, but the lines are crazy(good for them, bad for me). Hopefully things will calm down. You can create your own pizza with unlimited toppings, or you can choose one of the creations. People sure do go overboard when you can have unlimited toppings! I saw one guy putting shrimp and chicken and arugula, cheese, bacon and whatever else he threw on the poor pizza.

You get up to the counter and choose your crust, traditional, whole wheat or whole grain. Then you choose your sauce, classic tomato, spicy tomato, basil pesto, red chickpea, garlic puree(what I got) and mushroom truffle. Your cheese choices: housemade mozzarella, provolone blend, ricotta, asiago, goat and daiya mozzarella. There are also finishes and oils that can be applied after backing. They also have drinks, alcoholic too, salads and desserts.

Coming out of their oven! Hot and Fresh!

There isn't a lot of seating there, but you can share tables and we met some nice guys there.

I also LOVE that the tables have ice water on them and, with lemons. I heart water and especially love it with lemon, so that's huge points in my book. I think they also have water on the table without lemons too.

My delicious choice- gnarlic(super garlicy), but also added mushrooms

The crust was crunchy, but not overly so.

Gary of course got the meat lovers one

They also add freshly cracked black pepper too if you want it.

So, will I go back?! You Bet!

So, if you are in the area, check it out, plus there are a lot of other great restaurants around there too.

Got Stress?!?

2012-09-11T17:28:00.003-07:00

How do you de-stress at the end of the day?

As of late I definitely have been feeling stressed. We are moving on September 28, not too far from where we are, but we have a lot to do before then, arrangements to make, boxes to pack....I am super excited though. Only 17 more days and we will officially be home owners. Feel free to send housewarming gifts:-), we also take cash!

Tonight was Back to School Night, for teachers that is one of the least favorite days of the year. I got to school at 6:40 and just got home at 7:40 so I was at work for 13 hours. I know, some of you work more than that. I, however am not used to it at all.

So tonight I am having a nice slice of Dairy Queen oreo cookie ice cream cake.

I'd also really like a glass of wine, but we don't have any bottles currently. I guess I could run across the street, but I'm just too tired and I am already in my pjs. I'd post a picture, but you would all be too jealous of the look I am sporting right now.

I think food is one of my favorite de-stressers...I also enjoy running, but after putting in a 13 hour day I'm beat. I'm also a little worried about my half marathon on Sunday....eeeek, so not ready. If I was going to run a 10k like I am at the end of October I would be set. Let's just hope we have beautiful weather. The last few days have been truly "Fall" weather.

Can't wait for this to happen!

It's hard to believe that tomorrow is only Wed, just gotta push through. Happy Hump Day a day early!

Foodie Penpal Reveal!

2012-09-02T20:29:00.004-07:00

Excited again, got another package. It arrived on time, but I wasn't home so I couldn't receive it. I've been so busy, but was able to pick it up yesterday.

So, here's my foodie PenPal reveal. The person who sent me a package is from the midwest, her name is Stephanie and has a blog at Athlete at Heart. Check her out. She's had a rough last few weeks, but I hope she's doing a lot better! Thanks again for my package Stephanie!

This is what she sent me....

I'm really excited to try the chia and it's so great that it is decaf because I fear caffeine. I can't try it yet, because it is too hot out, but as soon as that cool crisp fall day hits I'll be heating up some water. Stephanie also sent me these delicious chocolate almonds which are not in the picture. Why?! Well I opened the package in the car and immediately decided I had to open those ASAP. I also decided to share with my fellow riders. I must have left it in the car. But they are super yummy!

If you are interested in participating.....

Here are the details:

-On the 5th of every month, you will receive your penpal pairing via email. It will be your responsibility to contact your penpal and get their mailing address and any other information you might need like allergies or dietary restrictions.
-You will have until the 15th of the month to put your box of goodies in the mail. On the last day of the month, you will post about the goodies you received from your penpal!
-The boxes are to be filled with fun foodie things, local food items or even homemade treats! The spending limit is $15. The box must also include something written. This can be anything from a note explaining what’s in the box, to a fun recipe…use your imagination!
-You are responsible for figuring out the best way to ship your items depending on their size and how fragile they are. (Don’t forget about flat rate boxes!)
-Foodie Penpals is open to blog readers as well as bloggers. If you’re a reader and you get paired with a blogger, you are to write a short guest post for your penpal to post on their blog about what you received. If two readers are paired together, neither needs to worry about writing a post for that month.
-Foodie Penplas is open to US & Canadian residents. Please note, Canadian Residents will be paired with other Canadians only. We’ve determined things might get too slow and backed up if we’re trying to send foods through customs across the border from US to Canada and vice versa.

If you’re interested in participating for September, please CLICK HERE to fill out the participation form and read the terms and conditions.

You must submit your information by September 4th as pairings will be emailed on September 5th!

*If you’re from somewhere besides the US, Canada or Europe and want to participate, send me an email and I’ll see if we get enough interest this month!

What I ate Wednesday

2012-08-29T17:38:00.002-07:00

Haven't done this in awhile. It isn't because I haven't eaten anything good, it's pretty much because I've been MIA.....

Breakfast:
Anyway, this morning I had some extra time to actually make breakfast. I had to attend a workshop and didn't have to be there until 8:30. This means that I didn't have to get up at 5:30, but could get up at 7:30 or so. Two whole extra hours of sleep, complete *Bliss*

Ever since I watched the MasterChef episode where they had to make eggs three ways, poached, soft boiled and omelette I have been on a mission. I've tried the poached several times and still can't seem to perfect it. I've done the vinegar thing, but maybe it's because I only had cider vinegar. I just can't seem to get all the white to not spread out. Grrr.....
If anyone has any tips I'd love to hear them!

So this morning I decided to poach an egg. I don't have any of those cute little egg cups. They are on my Christmas wish list.

Lunch:
The workshop that I was at served lunch buffet style. Not what I would typically eat for lunch, not to mention that hot lunches always make me super sleepy. They had fried chicken, a greenbean medley, a creamed corn dish that was super yummy, fried cod, fried oysters (see the theme with the main foods?!), a pasta salad, rolls, crab soup, potatoes and some other side dishes. The potatoes were yummy, whatever they cooked them in.
Yeah, I have a huge plate full, kinda wanted to try a lil of everything. I just couldn't stomach the oyster.

There was also cake for dessert, I'm not usually a huge fan of dessert, but I tried it, free is free after all. It had strawberry layers and some raspberry sauce. It was meh....

Dinner:
I only wish that I could have found a yummy heirloom tomato for my dish. C'est la vie.

Homemade Ravioli

2012-08-27T14:09:00.001-07:00

Who doesn't love food from scratch? If you say no you are either lazy, don't care for good food or maybe you are a bad cook.

Don't get me wrong, sometimes fast food is great, so are those frozen orange stouffers boxes, or that blue craft mac n' cheese box. In my opinion it is just really satisfying to make something from scratch, plus I like the compliments I get from my husband and friends.

The other day one of my besties, Meg, and I made homemade ravioli. I have the pasta attachment for my kitchenaid thanks to my MIL. It's so much easier to make pasta with 4 hands than 2. What's the phrase, "many hands make..._______" I don't actually remember the rest of the phrase.

Anyway we bought this neat little ravioli press. It took a few tries to get them pressed out correctly, but it makes a bunch at a time. I know that there are single presses, but the hubs used his head and got the one that makes many. Thanks hubs! Way to use your noggin.

My lovely manicured nail, although I feel that my thumb looks aged....

Mmmm....love this stuff....

Pancetta, fresh parsley ricotta, regianno, fresh garlic and egg mixture

I need a good recipe for sauce. This is just regular sauce with italian herbs, garlic and mascarpone cheese. Anyone have a good recipe?!

The hubs enjoying the delicacy that is our meal.

Duck Butts

2012-08-24T19:25:00.001-07:00

My body is tired....which was evident in my run today.

After getting up at 5:15 all week and working with new first graders and planning and trying to work out kinks I am tired. Plus I had to work at my other part-time job last night which was tiring too. However, on that note I did make it through the first week of school.

I overslept this morning which totally threw me off. I am just lucky that I woke up. Crisis averted, sort of.

My run on Tuesday was great, but that was only two days into the week. Add three days later and phew body knows it. It's 9:30 on a Friday and I will most likely be going to bed in a half hour and I won't complain. Bed will feel A-M-A-Z-I-N-G!

Ideally I would love to sleep here, but I guess I will settle for ours.

So my run, I managed to get in 5 miles. I had meant to do 6 but then decided to cut it to 4, but when all was said and done it ended up being 5. It was also pretty warm/humid today....not my favorite type of weather.

The fun part is I get to do lots of people watching thanks to all the tourists. People are also quite fascinated with our squirrels. They are overly friendly and overly fed I believe. So just making that like clicking sound really calls them over. As you can see by my picture. It's kinda scary how close they will get though. The tourists love it though and I find it quite amusing as well.

I also ran past a bunch of ducks in the pool in front of the Capitol. I like ducks. Not as much as my SIL, but they are super cute. I had to take a picture of their cute little duck butts bobbing in the water, hence the post title.

I hope you didn't get too excited over the title- or wonder what kind of duck smut I was talking about.

Hope you have a wonderful and restful weekend!

Training is back

2012-08-21T17:21:00.001-07:00

So I am finally back to official training. I gots to be I have the 1/2 in Sept. September 16 to be exact and for those of you who are good at math, that is 27 days away. A little less than a month. GAAAA!

Just found out who's playing the after....interesting.....

Today I logged the farthest I have all summer, 6 miles. They actually felt pretty good. I started off going on a 4 mile run, but felt pretty good so added 2 more miles. At about 2 miles it started to pour, so I ducked into a little area by the Capitol, where the fountain is....when it started to slow I headed back out. It was funny because there were a bunch of us sheltered in there. The rain actually felt pretty good. There were still a bunch of hardcore runners in the rain. Love it! Plus the rain wasn't cold it was a warm rain. Unfortunately the rather nice day, turned rain, turned humid.

Came home and stretched while sipping on chocolate milk, a after run/workout favorite.

It's funny too because I just quit the gym today, money back in my account. Not that I don't love my gym, it's just I haven't gone in forever. I'd rather run outside and do my workout videos inside than travel to the gym. If my gym were cheaper I might stay, but since I went all of like 5 times this summer....meh, no loss on me. I can still go to classes if I want to and just pay. It ends up still being cheaper if I go to 4 classes a month.

Now that summer is sadly coming to a close I can run more frequently outside. I gotta say that running in the winter is my fav. I'm a cold lover and I have way more cold weather running clothes.

In another attempt to motivate myself. I have signed up for the MCM 10k which was our first "long" virgin run last year. So to keep traditions up. Plus, I got one of my besties to run and hopefully some of my other girlies will run too. If you are reading this Jenna and Teresa, here's the website to sign up:-) Actually anyone in the area reading this sign up!

Now I just have to coax the hubs to get back to running with me.

What races do you have planned for the fall?

What's your after workout treat?

Dropping the ball

2012-08-20T17:34:00.002-07:00

Hi, it's me again. I didn't drop off the face of the earth. Well I guess my blog did.

Even my husband has been giving me slack, so you know that's bad.

Last week I went back to school. It was a week of room preparation, meetings and planning. It's exciting and yet very tiring. I am very pleased with how my room is set up this year. I do wish that I could have less students-but that's a wish for the perfect world. I guess if I didn't teach in a low-income area class sizes would be smaller, seems slightly unfair to me, but we won't get into all the politics and logistics educational system.

My room is mostly panda themed, but for some reason I was drawn to owls this year....oddly enough so were two of my co-workers.

Thus far I have "Whoo's a helper?"
"Owl be your friend"
and
"Owl Wise Work"
I know, kinda cheesy but I like them.

Instead of stapling and taping all the time I hot glued clothes pins to the laminated owls so that I can hang all their work

For their pictures

Anyway.....this is the first week with actual students. I survived my first day with only 23 little owl babies. As the year goes on only more will come. Hopefully they will be little angels :-)

I am tired today and no doubt it will only get worse as the week goes on....but I am hoping to get back out to running tomorrow as I have a half marathon in a month and I am SO NOT ready- EEEK!

I have another little DIY project that I got from pinterest that I will post later. I hope my students get some good use out of it. I did lay on it the other day to "reflect" on the coming year. The more it gets used however, the more I will not lay on it. I think you can figure out why.

Belated Vacation

2012-08-05T04:10:00.001-07:00

Don't ask me why I've been so bad at posting. I mean come on, it's the summer, I have tons of time. I really have no excuses really.

Here are a few pictures from the family vacation from the week before..... in a quick nutshell

Gary wake boarding!

Chris and Gary coming back in from fishing, alas no fish

Went to 'Paws and Claws' pretty cool how close you could get to the animals- feeding the giraffe

More feeding, those wily sheep and goats!

Super cute capybaras and babies

Look out!

Fishing- SIL and BF did A LOT of this!

Our favorite place to soak up the sun- got Lots of reading done here!

And.....finally shooting targets.....

A little freaked out with what I'm holding

I totally look like I know what I'm doing.....

Storms a coming batten down the hatches

SIL and my awesome hat! Don't be jealous. Gots to protect the face from the sun.

The end.

June Foodie Penpal Reveal!

2012-07-31T13:02:00.000-07:00

This is the first time I have participated in a foodie penpal and I'm super excited to keep doing it. I found this opportunity on another blog that I read and am so glad that Lindsay@theleangreenbean started this!

Here's my reveal (what I received)

If you love getting packages and eating/trying new things you should join up!

I haven't really gotten to try much, apparently the package was sent back to my penpal the first time and just re-arrived today.

Thank you however to my wonderful foodie penpal, Terrinda!! You definitely spoiled me so many jars and yummy treats! Part of me wanted to tear into everything and try a bite of each, but I restrained my inner food demon and tried only 2 things. I did try the watermelon rind pickles, I've never had them before and they were really intriguing to me. Have any of you ever had them before? They kind of remind me a little of bread n' butter pickles.

Check out all the yummies I received. Oddly enough my foodie penpal that I sent to lives within 20 minutes of me....and also originally lived in PA, what's the odds of that?!
Came home to this bad boy outside our door!

S-P-O-I-L-E-D! Thanks!!!

Huge fan of those KIND bars! Haven't had the almond & coconut one. Those Do More Bars look yummy too! Tried the cookies expecting them to be crunchy and they were soft- nice!

Of the 4 items below I've only had 1 of them....well I guess I've had BBQ sauce before, but not Herb's. Looks like I gots to get grilling again! I wonder what I should make. I had to look up what muscadine cider was. Apparently muscadine are types of grapes that have think skin and are noted for their fruity taste. It is the only alcohol free drink that does not go through the fermentation process. This is immediately going in the refrigerator for chilling.

My girl also sent me some recipes! Can't wait to try them!

Thank you again to my foodie penpal, Terrinda for NC!! You've made my first experience doing this great!

What I ate Wednesday

2012-07-28T05:51:00.004-07:00

So I'm kinda mad at myself. I forgot today was Wednesday and therefore forgot to take pictures of my lunch. Sadly too.
** Also if you don't like hunting/fishing this may not be the article for you.

For breakfast I had....

with milk

Lunch, here's the tragic part. Chris, Jess' bf caught a fish, in the morning, a bass filleted him immediately and put him in the fridge. Yesterday he had caught a catfish- a pretty decent size one and kinda hooked/tied him up leaving him alive and in the water. Sadly and yet good for the fish he got away, but the bass was yummy. Chris fried him up with some of this seasoning and it was nice and mild. I'm always worried that fish are going to be too "fishy" if you know what I mean. I also had a chobani cinnamon apple yogurt with grapes, some swiss cheese and bugles. It's a typical vacation snack. Oh yes, and some cherries. I wasn't fast enough taking a picture pre-death, nor did I take one after. But I do have some pics of the poor catfish that got away.

Dinner was a meat fest from the great hunter. We had smoked bear chops and pulled BBQ venison(topped with sweet billy rays) and venison roast with some type of sauce. I am a huge fan of venison. Actually my favorite was the roast. Bear was a first for me and it was pretty tender...those guys are big fatties though. We also had corn-on-the-cob. A must for vacation.
Smoked Bear Chops

Venison Roast in yummy sauce

Pulled Venison in sauce below

Lovely smattering of meat on my wonderfully retro plate:-)

Dessert: Coffee Toffee with LOTS of SPRINKLES!!!