Some Like It Hot

I love a good deal. Anytime I can save money, I'm all over it. Especially when it means trying out something that I've wanted to try. Enter Groupon. I saw an offer for Hot Yoga and at $19 for 5 sessions, it seemed too good to pass up. Of course, I'm never one to do anything crazy alone, so I quickly recruited Sam to join me. After obsessively researching the topic and hydrating myself to the point of drowning for five days I was ready for my first class.

Sam and I chose to start with a 90-minute Hot 26 class. From what I can tell, this is basically a Bikram class with a different name. Twenty-six poses, two times through. I'm not going to lie, the heat is intense, but I kind felt like a bad ass in there. There's something empowering about raising yourself off the floor in a Full Locust and seeing sweat pouring off your face. And surviving my first class? Priceless. I went to the same class yesterday and clearly wasn't properly hydrated because I was fighting blackouts during the first two segments. Hydrate, hydrate, hydrate! The bright side was that I nailed a few of the poses I struggled with the first session. Camel Pose has my heart.

Now that I've attended a couple of classes (which by no means makes me an expert on the subject), here are my preliminary pros and cons:

Pros:
*I've finally become a water drinker and wonder how I've survived all this time as an athlete without it. I grossly underrated its value.
*It challenges me mentally and physically.
*The heat and sweating makes my skin glow for a solid 24 hours after taking the class.
*Muscle-toning benefits
*Yoga is great for runners

Cons:
*Unpredictable - but yoga has always been this way for me. There are days when I just can't find my balance but I wouldn't blame this on the heat.
*The heat can make you lightheaded and/or nauseous.
*Cost - it gets a little pricey when you figure the clothes, equipment, and membership. I consider it to be a good investment, but others may not appreciate the price tag.
*Grandiose claims of toxin release and calorie-burn may not be that accurate which is only a con if that's why you're doing it. Which I am not.

Hot Yoga is definitely not for everyone - some gyms have deals for first-timers who are unsure if it's something they would enjoy. My gym has 15 days for $15 and a friend of mine goes to a gym where they can bring a friend on Thursdays at no cost to the friend. These are both great options for Hot Yoga wannabe's to test the waters before taking the plunge.

Ruuuuuuning in the rain!

They're here. If you didn't read my previous blog you probably don't know who "they" are. I'm referring to my new running shoes: the Brooks PureConnect 2. After three days of tracking them on their journey across the country like Carmen San Diego, the UPS man delivered the precious cargo to my door late this afternoon. I was literally squealing with delight as I opened up the box. Are your sunglasses handy? You might want to put them on. Feast your eyes on these beauties:

Could you just die?? In their blinding neon glory, they were (and are) all I had ever dreamed of and more.....so much more. Is it just me, or do splashes of neon automatically make shoes look faster? Despite the fact that I was still in my dress and tights from school I laced up and ran to a mirror to check them out. I was quite a sight to behold, let me tell ya! The ridiculousness of my outfit was too much to bear so I quickly changed into my running gear in anticipation of a 2-mile rest run around the neighborhood - right after I waited for my phone to charge. Ugh. Of course, by the time it was charged, the rain from earlier had started up again. So I waited some more.

4:00 - still raining - perhaps a trip to Target for a new running shirt is in order.

4:30 - I went home empty-handed but the rain appeared to be letting up. Fingers crossed!

5:00 - IT STOPPED!!

I quickly put on the rest of my gear (it was dark by now so reflective additions had to be made - safety first!), leashed up Darcy, and out the door we went. The rain held off for ohhhh, the first 5 minutes. It started out as a light drizzle but I would definitely say it was raining by the time we finished the second mile. To me it actually felt really good - rain is refreshing when you're working up a good sweat.

So what did I think about the shoes?? Well.........

Hashtag: RUNHAPPYINDEED!!! It was love at first stride. If I had to choose three words to describe these shoes they would be light, speedy, and grippy. They are ridiculously light with a glove-like feel which makes you feel super-fast and despite the wet roads, they had great traction. I ran my first sub-9 minute mile in months which means that not only do I love them cosmetically, but I also love them functionally. Can't get much better for a first run straight out of the box!

I am so glad that Sam & Kendra encouraged me to try the PureConnects. I was sure I was going to be a PureFlow wearer for life but these actually fit/feel better to me. I hope I continue to feel that way during my training for the Special Kids 15k at the end of March.

Happy New Year - A Year Late

Today is the first Monday of the new year, which Kathy Lee & Hoda told me is the most depressing day of the year. Ya know, vacations and holidays are over and it's back to the daily grind. Were you depressed? I sure hope not. I certainly wasn't and I think that sentiment was shared by all teachers in Middle Tennessee. Our winter break was extended by two glorious "inclement weather" days and I'm enjoying every second. I can drink wine and watch The Bachelor guilt-free tonight. Yay!

Speaking of the new year, I am pretty sure that the word resolution is the most used word used in social media right now. Most people resolve to lose weight, eat better, give up this or give up that, etc. I prefer to take a goal-approach because, let's be honest, I rarely never manage to keep my resolutions anyway. Is the word "goal" really "resolution" in disguise? Perhaps, but we'll go with it anyway. My 2014 goals are:

*Become a faster, stronger runner. I ordered new kicks (Brooks PureConnect 2) yesterday and I'm literally twitching from excitement to hit the pavement in them (when they finally get delivered, of course)
*Be a stronger, more independent woman and stand up for myself when I should. I am not a doormat, after all. I did not do this very well in 2013 so it's something I want to improve on in 2014.
*Travel - with the exception of a lunch date with my dad in Alabama over Fall Break, I didn't leave Tennessee for a whole year! Unacceptable. Perhaps a destination race??

In addition to my goals, I saw an idea on Pinterest to write down all the good things that happen throughout the year - surprises, successes, goals achieved, good times, ect., - and throw them into a jar, or in my case, an owl vase to be read on New Year's Eve. I've already written a few down and tossed them in. Hopefully it will continue to heighten my awareness to the little things in life that make me happy :)

 

I hope everyone has a happy, healthy, and prosperous 2014.

 

Cheers!

Goodbye, 2012.

Sometimes I wonder why I keep a blog. I get on a roll of posting regularly and then somehow life gets in the way and I can't seem to crank anything out. It's the last day of 2012 so I thought I'd put up a short one to close out the year.

As I look back over the last 12 months, I realize a lot has happened. I ran my first (and second) half marathon, turned 30, hit my first deer, went back to teaching, and was shocked to realize that it had already been 10 years since my mom passed away. Oh! And the world didn't end. YEAH!!! It's been crazy and overwhelming but I learned a lot about myself and have had some amazing people come into my life. I have a lot to be thankful for. Of course, this would not be a true end-of-the-year post without listing some favorite moments - 10 of them actually - in no particular order.

1. Running the Country Music 1/2 Marathon - my first!
2. Getting an iPhone. Lame, I know but it seriously borders on life-changing.
3. Going back to teaching - dream come true :)
4. Margarita nights on my patio.
5. Spending Christmas at my dad's house. First time ever and it was awesome perfect.
6. Hitting my goal of running 500 miles in a year - couldn't have done it without my partner in crime Molly.
7. Canoeing on the Buffalo!! One of the best days - E-VER
8. Running a 5k (See Spot Run) with Darcy - looking forward to many more.
9. Darcy's 1st Birthday party! So much fun and I still laugh at the pictures.
10. The Color Run! Seriously the happiest 5k on the planet. Something about that sentence seems like an oxy-moron. Whatever.

I'm sure there are many other great moments that I've missed but these were what came to mind while I was sitting here.

Happy New Year!!

What a Difference a Year Makes

Last week on Facebook I saw a link shared by a friend from the RunnersWorld page about The 2012 Holiday Running Streak. The idea is to run at least one mile every day from Thanksgiving to New Years. I love a good challenge....especially when it requires me to stick to something for an extended period of time. I shared it on my page and said "I'm in!" I figure I can always knock out a mile each day no matter how busy, tired, or sick (yeah, I've been sick over Thanksgiving break, wahhh!!) I am.

After a three-week hiatus from running I finally got back out there a week ago for a two-miler with Darcy to loosen the cobwebs. It was painful. I thought I was going to die right there on the greenway. I can't begin to describe how discouraging that is when a mere 30 days before that I had run a half-marathon. Ugh. I took a break for a few days.

Despite the cold that was settling into my chest, I got back out there Thanksgiving morning for a 1.2 mile jog around the neighborhood. If I start getting sick, I find running to be the best medicine....usually. My cold got progressively worse over the weekend but I've kept the streak alive! My cold even seemed a little better today. We'll see how the next month goes - especially with a trip to North Dakota for Christmas. Brrr!!! Better pack the base layers.....and the middle layers...and the outer layers. Ha!

Anway, I'm totally getting off subject. The reason I wanted to post tonight was because I set a goal for myself of 500 miles this year. After tonight's run, I'm 20 miles away which is totally doable with 36 days left in the year. But looking at my stats reminded me of where I was at this time last year. Exactly one year ago (ok, technically one year tomorrow) I posted on here that I was at 229 miles and had a goal of 300. There were 37 days left in the year and I had 71 miles to go. I did meet my goal and even passed it by a few I think but I can't believe how far I've come in a year. I ran 200 more miles this year and did two half-marathons. Wonders never cease.

What should my goal be next year?

Rice Krispy Bars + Animal Crackers = A Delicious Fossil Lesson

This is not a teaching blog. It is not going to turn into a teaching blog. However, I came up with a lesson that I was so excited about that I just had to share it. Seriously. I scare myself sometimes.

This week in Science we are covering extinct animal species and fossils. I searched high and low for a "hands-on" activity to do with my kiddos and had half-heartedly committed to doing a chocolate chip cookie excavation in class. The idea was that the chocolate chips are the fossils and they had to excavate them with toothpicks. This seemed all well and good but I just felt like it wasn't realistic enough. I wanted something that would connect them more to the lesson and still involve materials of the edible kind. Because it's fun. And kids like fun.

I did an internet search and found a cookie bar (Rice Krispies treats) project where they had to dig out raisins and m&m's which seemed kind of cool but it still wasn't what I was looking for. Where is the realism in that? You're right, there isn't. Then it hit me: instead of raisins and m&m's, how about animal crackers?? They could dig through the Rice Krispy bars to find the broken up crackers and have to piece them back together to figure out what the species was - just like a paleontoligist would do. A fossil lesson that is not only (sort of) realistic, but also fun and yummy? Sounds like a winning combination to me. This activity was easy on my wallet and the prep work really wasn't that bad - just took some planning....and a little luck.

Let the "baking" begin! I went with the generic Zoo Cookies because they looked much more realistic than the traditional animal crackers..

 

 

 I mixed up the Rice Krispies treats and pressed half the batter into the pan so I could sandwich the broken pieces between two layers.

 

 

I broke up 20 animal crackers and pressed them into the first layer - I kept each animal confined to 1/20th of the pan so that when I cut them out and distributed them, there would (hopefully) be an entire animal fossil for the student to dig out (hence the aforementioned 'luck' component).

 

 

I pressed the rest of the Rice Krispy mixture on top. After cutting the pan of bars into 20 squares I put each one into a plastic baggie for quick distribution in class. I hate wasting time passing things out!

 

 

Digging away! The students were told that they could only use their hands to stabilize their "fossilized rocks" - no pulling the bar apart! They had two toothpicks to use to excavate the fossils.

 

The fossil pieces were piled to the side until digging was complete. At the end they had to piece together their fossil and identify it. Of course I forgot to take a final picture. Fail. They described and illustrated the whole process including the end result in their science notebooks.

 

My kids went absolutely bananas over this! They really got into their roles as paleontologists and made an effort to use their vocabulary words every chance they got. The bonus at the end was that they got to eat the Rice Krispy bars and I passed out the remaining animal crackers for snack.

 

I'd say this activity was a hit and will definitely use it again!

It's All Fun and Games.....

I had a feeling this would happen. I saw it coming a mile away and unfortunately I did it to myself. For over a year, I took Darcy with me to work every single day. Anytime I could take her somewhere, she came along with me. Now that I'm back to teaching, she doesn't get to go with me. Anywhere. Ever. After only a week and a half, she is putting her extreme distaste for being left home alone on display........and it isn't pretty.

After school I stayed and chatted with my team members for a bit and finally said, "Well, I better get home and see what Darcy chewed up today." I wasn't being completely serious and I was definitely not prepared for what was waiting for me when I got home.

As soon as I got the door unlocked and opened, Darcy bolted out to the back yard. I figured she just really had to go. And then I turned around. My living room floor was dotted with something that I couldn't identify from so far away so I walked through the kitchen (very slowly) to take a closer look. While I was at school today Darcy chewed: Three pairs of flip flops, one pair of heels, a ballpoint pen AND A PARTRIDGE IN A PEAR TREE!!! In my silent fury, I didn't even think to take a picture, although now I'm wishing I had so you could see it. I can only compare it to what it might look like if you put a bomb in the middle of the floor, piled shoes on top of it, and set it off. Shoe confetti! My "puppy-proofing" this morning was obviously an epic fail.

At this point, I still can't even look at her. I'm not mad anymore......just disappointed. But how do you convey that to a dog?? How do you show them the error of their ways?? She obviously knows she is in trouble because she is keeping her distance. It makes me so sad that she's acting out like this and it leaves me with no other option but to crate her when I'm not home. I don't doubt for a second that if I keep leaving her out, my sofa will eventually be strewn about the living room in the not so distant future. Shoes are easily replaced. Bedding is easily replaced. But a whole sofa? I shudder at the thought.

Party's over, Darcy. It's the crate for you :(

I Voted

I haven't been on here in a while. My excuse is totally legit, though. I went back to teaching. I am totally consumed with lesson planning these days and getting back into the swing of being in the classroom. It's exhausting but I wouldn't trade it for anything. I am one happy girl.....which is more than I can say for the other Lady of the House. Darcy is none too pleased with the fact that she is left home alone all day and has developed some rather destructive habits in my absence (i.e. chewing on my bedding). I've had several discussions with her regarding this unacceptable behavior but she just isn't getting it. She's upset that she can't go to work with me anymore and feels like she's been given a cruel and unusual punishment for a crime she didn't commit. Despite her dissapointment, she practically tackles me in excitement the minute I walk through the door. Once she's settled down a bit......it's game time.

How can I say no to that??

Now that I've given my excuses for not blogging I'll get back to the real topic of today's post. It's a historic day in America: Election 2012! After our inservice at school, I high-tailed it to my local polling place to cast my ballot. Luckily, I got there just before 4 p.m. so there wasn't much of a line. I literally spent all of 10 minutes there (no joke!). I'm not going to jump on a political soapbox but I do think that as American citizens, we should all take advantage of this amazing freedom and let our voice be heard. So if there's still time and you haven't done so yet.......GO VOTE!

 

The Color Run

I know, I know. I have been seriously neglecting my blogging duties the past few days. I have a good reason, I swear. I just can't tell you about it.......yet. But it has kept me quite busy the last few evenings and robbed me of precious sleep. All I can say is, it's worth it, and I'll hopefully let you in on the secret tomorrow.

I did want to put up a quick post about the 'happiest 5k' I have ever participated in: The Color Run! If you've never heard of this color-wonderful event, you really should look into it and sign up if it ever comes to your area.

Team "Chase the Rainbow" headed downtown bright and early Sunday morning and got to LP Field just as they were getting ready to start the waves. 

Clean and white before the race!

 



We ended up in wave #9 and got to the start line around 9:15ish. The course started just outside LP Field, went over the pedestrian bridge, down Printer's Alley, across the Cumberland River, and back to LP Field. At each kilometer we were doused with a new color of powder.

Kilometer 1: Yellow! Kendra and I just had to stop for a quick photo :)

 

Molly & I outside after km 4 - the blue station

 

The race ended back outside of LP Field. Every ten minutes, they did a big color toss using the packets of powder we had received in our race packets. Runners gathered around the stage and 3....2...1.....

 

Color!!!

 

Molly, me, Sam, & Kendra Post Color Run!

 

This race was a blast! We had so much fun out there and literally laughed from 0 to 3.1! We're already looking at fun options for next year. Foam anyone??



 



 

 



Ring my (kettle) bell!

Halloween is getting closer. Maybe a little too close for comfort. And you know what that means.......

Ugh. The dreaded candy bowl. My daily mantra for the next 13 days is "Just Say No". It might not be so bad if I could limit myself to just one but I generally can't so I am avoiding it altogether.

Work was really slow today and the doctors at the clinic had recently put a bug in my ear about how effective kettlebell workouts are. I've never tried one and I wasn't really sure where to start so consulted one of my most trusted resources: Google. In my search, I stumbled across Jillian Michael's Shred-It With Weights. Like her other DVD's it got some pretty stellar reviews so I decided that was a good place for me to start, especially since I've had so much success with her workouts in the past. Lucky for me, Barnes and Noble had it in stock, and on sale. SOLD!

After making my purchase, my next stop was a few doors down at Dick's Sporting Goods to make a kettlebell selection. Talk about overwhelming. I had no idea what size I should get so I whipped out my cell phone and dialed up Dr. Lane. Can you believe he thought I was calling him from the reception desk at the clinic and was just too lazy to walk up to the break room to talk to him? Unbelievable ;) I told him that, no, I wasn't at work anymore but that I needed some advice on picking out the right weight for a kettlebell. There was some muffled discussion between him and Dr. J but they swiftly determined that I should go for one that was 15-20 pounds. That sounded outrageous (albeit flattering) but I figured they knew more about it than I did.

 

Kettlebell. Check. Shred-It With Weights. Check. Let's get this workout started!

Shred-It With Weights is no joke. It was challenging to the point where I felt like I was working really hard but not so much that I wanted to give up. The time went by fairly quickly and I found it enjoyable despite the fact that I couldn't do all the moves. There was lots of room for improvement - which is kind of exciting. I love struggling with a tough workout in the beginning because I know that if I stick with it I'll get stronger and better at it. So motivating! My entire body feels like jell-o right now and I can only imagine what I will feel like tomorrow. This was everything I wanted in a workout. And more.

Post-workout (and subsequent shower), I sipped on a chocolate protein shake while I cooked up my dinner. I had another Stuffed Chili and Cheese Potato, just like I said I would in yesterday's post (don't say I didn't warn you). I'm so sorry for the terrible picture. I truly am.

Clearly, it does not look as delicious as the stock photo. How many more days until I get my iPhone?

Workin' out, Eatin' in

Well, hellloooo. Sorry about being MIA yesterday but I was still dragging so much from the busy weekend that I just couldn't pull a coherent blog post together.

Now that the half marathon is behind me, I have made a goal to get back into doing regular strength training. I avoided it while I was preparing for the half because I was too afraid of getting sore and it impeding my running. No more excuses. Time to make it a habit so that all muscle fatigue and soreness will be behind me when training kicks in again after Christmas.

On Monday I had to be up extremely early to take my dad to the airport. I didn't have to be to work until 10 so I figured I might as well get my workout done. I opted to do Jillian Michael's Yoga Meltdown. I was still feeling some stiffness from the race so I thought this would help stretch me out. It did stretch out my muscles but it was definitely a challenging DVD. I was sweatin'! After that, I decided to keep the momentum going and took Darcy for a quick one mile run around the neighborhood. Productive morning!

Yesterday I woke up feeling a little sore in my shoulders from the yoga so I opted against a Jillian repeat. I sifted through the many workouts I've pinned on Pinterest and settled on this one:

It took me about 15 minutes to complete and I felt like I really had worked my whole body without completely exhausting it. Didn't seem too intense......at the time. This morning my glutes and hamstrings did not let me forget this seemingly innocent little gem of a workout. I will definitely be re-visiting this one.

Due to the soreness in my lower body today, I really wasn't feeling like running even though I had a four-miler planned. I procrastinated in the break room while chatting with the doctors for a bit before forcing myself off the futon and heading to the greenway. Darcy and I managed to kick out 4 miles in about 38 minutes. Took a little bit to get warmed up but we found our stride about half way in. As always, I was glad that I had forced myself to get out there. Little buddy wasn't complaining either.

I came home and made a fantastically quick and simple dinner. A stuffed chili and cheese potato. Hard as it may be to believe, I found this recipe on (everybody now!) Pinterest. It may not look like much, but it made a pretty hefty portion. This is the article photo because a) we all know the camera on my phone takes crappy photos, and b) mine didn't look as pretty on the plate so that really left me with nothing to work with.

When I started making it, I was sure that 1/2 cup of chili was not going to be enough but it ended up working out perfectly. I cooked the chili and broccoli mixture on the stove for the entire 12 minutes that it took to prepare the potato. Once the potato was ready I just cut it open, dumped the chili mixture on it and topped with cheese. Voila! This is a recipe I will make again and again. It's just a good 'stick-to-your-ribs' kind of meal that will be perfect for chilly winter evenings......and for dinner again tomorrow night. And maybe even Friday as well. What can I say? I'm a creature of habit.

Hope everyone is having a great week. Happy Hump Day!

Miller's Grocery

It is no secret that I love a good local joint. I will take a quaint, local cafe over a large chain restaurant any day of the week because they just always seem to have a special atmosphere to them that could never be duplicated in a cookie-cutter building with the textbook decor. On Sunday after church we went to this fantastic little cafe in Christiana, TN called Miller's Grocery. It's an old country store that was restored in 1995 into "an antique filled, country cafe featuring home-style Southern cooking and award winning "from scratch" desserts." They kept the name as a way to pay homage to the original owner, Mr. Stanley Miller.

Tuesday through Saturday they serve a standard meat & three cafe menu but on Sunday is when the magic happens and it turns into an all-you-can-eat buffet. I thought my eyes were going to pop right out of my head at the very sight of the massive southern-style spread of food. We all made the executive decision that we were going all in and just attacking the buffet with reckless abandon. The only problem was where to begin?? Logically, we opted to work our way from one end to the other.

Enter my salad plate:

I basically grabbed a bit of everything that looked good. There was coleslaw, potato salad, macaroni salad, broccoli salad, a couple of green salads, the dressed tomatoes, and a couple of fruit salads. I have to mention one fruit salad in particular because it was just so unique. It had crushed pineapple, marshmallows, and shredded cheddar cheese. Sounds like a wretched combination but it was absolutely delightful and I might have gone back for seconds.

Course number two involved the "meat & three" portion of the meal. It included breaded fish (catfish maybe??), meatloaf, and chicken tenders.

I'm a little embarrassed to say that I didn't take any of the plain veggies. I was too distracted by the cheesy squash casserole, homemade macaroni & cheese, mashed potatoes and the cheesy broccoli casserole. Yes, there was a definite cheese theme going on. I also managed to snag a few of these little gems:

Corn nuggets are a revelation. They taste like breaded creamed corn. The outsides were perfectly crisp and the insides had a sweet creamy-ness that I did not know existed. I almost needed someone to check my pulse because I was sure I had died and gone to food heaven.

We had to take a little breather at this point. We were getting pretty stuffed rather full but there was absolutely no way we were going to pass up Miller's "made from scratch" dessert. I'm sure had we skipped it we would have been breaking all sorts of rules in terms of buffet etiquette so we had to take one for the team and press on.

This is the blog-appropriate dessert plate. Basically what that means is that my first one was so full, that I was a teensy bit embarrassed to photograph it and post it online. I'm afraid you might have lost some respect for me. But there was more. Much more. This is actually plate number two.

The dessert buffet was loaded down with pies, brownies, cobblers, and cakes. I, of course, loaded up on anything with cheesecake, chocolate, peanut butter, or a combination of the three. Pictured above is the peach cobbler, chocolate pie, and pecan pie. I only ate a couple of bites of the pecan pie because it just didn't do it for me. I want less filling, more pecans. It wasn't "nutty" enough for me. Make whatever jokes you deem appropraite. I can laugh at myself.

After about an hour an a half of talking, eating, drinking coffee, and eating some more, we finally waddled outside to go our separate ways (my way was in the direction of The Avenue for some boot shopping, but more on that later). I really can't say enough good things about our experience at Miller's Grocery. Everything was absolutely wonderful. I highly recommend it if you're ever in the area - just make sure to call ahead for reservations. That place is hustlin' and bustlin'!

The Middle Half

Race day started bright at early at this house. My alarm was serenading me at 5 a.m. and I was out the door by 5:30 to pick up Molly. The stadium was absolutely buzzing when we got there - I always love the atmosphere at races. Even if it's just a 5k, there's always excitement in the air.

We were off and running shortly after 7 a.m. The route wound through the historical spots of Murfreesboro. My favorite was probably Oaklands Mansion because everyone was in full historic dress out front cheering us on as we ran by.

I finished with a new personal record of 2:19:46. I was really hoping to be faster since this course was basically flat compared with the hilly Nashville terrain that we covered at the Country Music Half back in April but really, my only goal was to get a better time in general. Mission accomplished.

I know I'm going to catch a ton of flack for this but I would not do The Middle Half again. There was so much hype surrounding it that I thought it might become my new favorite but to be honest, I didn't really care for the route. The best sights were at miles 4 & 5 and then the rest really wasn't much to look at so I just got plain bored out there. Unfortunately, I was spoiled with my first 1/2 and now my standards might be too high. I will say that the race was extremely organized which made it a pleasant experience overall. Plus, how much can I really complain when I had my dad cheering me on down the final stretch to the finish line?

Two Days in One Blog Post

What a whirlwind yesterday and today have been! The schedule was fairly light at the clinic yesterday so we spent the day making the reception area look festive by putting up all the Halloween decorations. I jetted out of work around 2:30 to go pick up my dad from the airport. We grabbed some Starbucks on the way home and then went to O'Charleys for dinner. My dad ordered the Prime Rib Pasta and I ordered the Bruschetta Chicken. This dish was fantastic - like, 'last meal' good! The chicken breast was topped with melty mozzerella cheese and the traditional balsamic tomato and onion bruschetta. On the side was steamed broccoli and a grilled tomato. DIE! And by the way.....this entire dish is only 470 calories? Oh. Em. Gee.

Today my dad and I were up and at 'em right away. We ate a light breakfast at home (I had an egg and avocado on toast, he had a bowl of cheerios) before heading out to do a little shopping and then we went to pick up my race packet for tomorrow. A neon pink Brooks tech shirt!? Amazeballs. Neon is the new black people.

The swag bag is always an exciting part of packet pick-up for me. It's fun to see what kind of odd goodies they throw in among all the random candidates for the recycling bin. I'm pretty excited about these two items from Dr. Nate's Naturals:

I'm all about natural products - especially local ones. Turns out Dr. Nate is not only a real person, but a Murfreesboro native. The products are 100% natural and are never tested on animals. The website claims that the Natural Lip Therapy (Retail Price: $4.00) is the "best balm you've ever used!" I put some on a little bit ago and it really reminds me of C.O. Bigelow's Mentha Lip Shine sans the 'over-powering, don't even try to eat or drink' minty taste. Who's a fan? This girl! The toothpaste (Retail Price: $5.00) is fluoride free and my dad is currently being my guinea pig upstairs and giving it a whirl.....so more on that in a hot minute.

This evening Molly came over for our traditional pre-race pasta dinner. Her parents recently moved down here from Chicago so with the three of them, my dad, and me, we had a full table! Thank goodness for neighbors that also have counter-height kitchen tables that can loan me an extra chair. Ha! We had spaghetti with a choice of garden veggie or meat sauce, garlic bread, and a delicious side salad that was loaded with dried cranberries, hard boiled eggs, and grilled chicken. For dessert we had a neopolitan angel food cake. Yeah, it was every bit as good as it sounds. So fluffy and light; not too sweet. Great food and great company.

It's almost 9:30 so I better get to bed before I turn into a pumpkin. I've got an early morning and need to get a good night's sleep if at all possible.

P.S. Final verdict on the toothpaste from my dad: He said it tastes good and his teeth feel clean. However, he noted that "it's not real foamy." So there you have it.

Procrastination

I have one of the most social dogs on the planet, she pretty much loves all people and other animals - even if they don't love her back. Today was a rare day for her, though. She was having a good old time at work playing with her tennis ball......but she was not letting anyone else join in the fun.

While taking a break, she had one paw on the ball and was not letting it out of her sight. I think this is one of the best pictures I've ever snapped of her. She is just so pretty (and not in the inside joke that we have at work kind of way). Seriously. She should be in magazines. I think I still have an old t-shirt from the Victoria's Secret Pink collection that says "My Dog is Cuter than Your Dog". I need to find it....because it's true.

I started having a bit of a meltdown this morning when I thought of everything I had to get done tonight before my dad flies in for the weekend tomorrow. I needed to pick up a few last-minute things at Wal-Mart (ugh!!), do five loads of laundry, get in a two-mile run, and give my bedroom and bathroom a good cleaning since that's where he'll be crashing while he is here. I knew once I just got going it would be fine but the mere thought of it about sent me over the edge. I suppose that's what I get for putting everything off until the last minute. Sigh. I never learn.

In an effort to save my sanity I left work a couple hours early and got started. It is now 6:11 p.m. I did my shopping, cleaned, and have the laundry going. Two loads down, three to go! I'm probably going to wait until later to run........like 8 or 9ish. I haven't gone on a night run in ages and kinda miss it a little. Better break out the reflective gear! You can never be too careful when you live in a neighborhood that is this close to being classified as a retirement community.

Click the link, make the recipe.

After my crappy eating habits yesterday, breakfast did not sound very appealing this morning so no oatmeal for this girl. I knew if I didn't eat something I would be starving not long after I got to work so I settled for something light. Hello down there! Wow, could I have been any farther away for this shot? Apparantly I felt like standing on the counter to take the picture. Just kidding, I didn't really do that.......but there's a visual. Ha!

In case you can't squint enough to see, I had a bowl of cheerios with a banana sliced in and a hot cup of coffee. It was just what I needed. Unfortunately, snapping a pic of lunch was a fail as usual (I swear one of these days I'll snap pictures of all three meals!) but I finished off the leftover pot roast that I made in the crock pot last week and some smashed potatoes from Sunday. Leftovers are always delicious - sometimes even better than the day they were made.

Yesterday I mentioned that I was in full Suzy-Homemaker mode when I got home but I couldn't go into any detail because a certain someone is a faithful reader of my blog these days and I didn't want to spoil the surprise. I managed to find out on Sunday that Ryan is a sucker for chocolate chip cookies so I decided to whip up a batch of these bad boys as a way to thank him for delivering a spare bed to my house that I can sleep on while my dad is visiting this weekend. I am not exaggerating when I tell you that this recipe produces the most delicious cookies on the planet. They are soft and chewy - no chocolate chip potato chips here! Everyone needs to make this recipe. Like, right now yesterday. And then try to eat just one. I dare you.

We had them for dessert and they got two thumbs up from both of us. I passed the chocolate chip cookie test with flying colors. Thank you Pinterest!

Between working, running, and having some special company tonight I got absolutely nothing done besides one load of laundry. My dad is going to be here in less than 48 hours so I've definitely got my work cut out for me. Better get to bed so I'm fresh and ready to tackle tomorrow!

Pop Quiz

True or False? The sound of an alarm clock on a rainy Monday morning is probably the absolute worst sound in the world. If you said true, we're on our way to becoming bff's because it pretty much ruined my blissful sleep this morning.

Last night I watched The Girl with the Dragon Tattoo. I cannot even begin to explain how much I loved the book. The movie.....not so much. If I hadn't read the book, it might not have been so bad, but I'm not sure I would've been able to follow it either. I have trouble with movies that try to make me think too much. They make me feel a little.....what's the word.......stupid? Yeah, that's it. Anyway, let's just say that although I'm extremely excited about reading the next two books in the series I will absolutely not watch the movie versions if they choose to film them. Period. The End.

Like I said, this morning was chilly and rainy. What better way to console myself after being rudely awakened by an alarm clock than with a delicious bowl of PB&J Oatmeal and a cup of coffee? I can think of nothing.

I really need to get a camera so I can snap better pictures. I swear my food looks much more appetizing in person than it does in the pictures I've been posting.

It took everything I had to drag myself to work this morning. It was crazy busy when I got there and I could think of several places I would have rather been. There was tons of food in the break room fridge from a get-together at Arrington Vineyards yesterday that I used to fuel me up around lunch time. I ended up grazing on it all afternoon so needless to say, I went home with a very upset stomach tonight.

When I got home, I was in full Suzy Homemaker mode. More on that tomorrow ;)

A Sunday of Surprises!

"Every morning in Africa, a gazelle wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the fastest lion or it will be killed. Every morning in Africa, a lion wakes up. It knows it must run faster than the slowest gazelle or it will starve. It doesn't matter whether you are a lion or a gazelle. When the sun comes up, you better be running."

Yep, that quote popped into my head and motivated me to get my behind moving and go for a run this morning. So glad I did because I was pleasantly surprised that I was able to kick out 6 miles without my foot bothering me! My Pandora radio station played some really good tunes today and around mile 2 I found myself rockin' out on the greenway. Luckily, nobody was there to witness but I really wouldn't have cared anyway! I have to add that I really don't recommend singing while running - I got pretty winded from it. Ha! As usual, I hit up Starbucks on my way home and chatted on the phone with my grandma as I drove home.

This afternoon I headed out to Ryan's. He cooked up a pretty delicious lunch - cocktail shrimp, scallops, stuffed clams, steamed asparagus and smashed potatoes. Pretty good for a bachelor. He reminded me about halfway through that I hadn't snapped a picture so maybe I'll try to snag one of a plate of leftovers. For dessert he made a lemonade pie that we chowed down on while we drank coffee later in the afternoon. After that, I got my second surprise of the day:

Ryan gave me a purple hoodie as a "good luck" gift before my half marathon this weekend. I'm gonna be lovin' life when I slip this on after I cross the finish line. This guy must really pay attention because it's going to pair perfectly with my purple shoes that I'm going to be sporting that day.

The rest of the afternoon consisted of driving around the country so Ryan could show me his crops and the land in Milton that he owns with his brother. Darcy was totally in her element and had a blast running around out in the field and riding around in the truck. She was a little worn out after all that excitement.

I had rented The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo for us to watch but we ran out of time since Ryan had to go into work for a bit this evening. Sooooo, I'm going to be watching it alone tonight, in my Under Armour hoodie of course :)

Another Busy Saturday

It's crazy to think that by this time next week, I will have ran my second half marathon. I'm honestly a little nervous about my foot holding up and I still haven't ruled out trying to get into the doctor this week to see if I might be able to get a cortisone injection....just to be on the safe side. My foot feels really good today and tomorrow morning I'm going to hit the greenway for a run. Not sure on the mileage yet because my plan is just to do whatever feels good.

The weather has been on the cool side the past few days so I've ditched my overnight oats and gone back to good old PB & J oatmeal in the morning. I don't know what happened today but my oats were a little soupy so I had to microwave them a little longer and let them sit on the counter for a bit to thicken before digging in.

Work was fairly busy - typical Saturday. I was pretty excited to have leftover McAlister's in the fridge at work. That sandwich was just as good as it was yesterday. After I left work, I made a quick stop at Dick's Sporting Goods to pick up another running tank. Yes, we are heading into winter but I still like to use them for layering and my favorite Nike tank was on clearance in purple. Now I have one to match each pair of shoes :)

If you're ever in the market for a great running tank, The Nike Tight Chill Legend is the way to go. Long and lean with serious moisture-wicking action. It comes in tons of colors, too, which puts it in the same category as happy meal toys - I want to collect them all!

I also hit up the Starbucks in Barnes & Noble on my way home for one of these:

'Tis the season for Pumpkin Spice Latte's! I have to confess that this was not taken today (why I felt the need to admit that, I have no idea). I actually had a tall, non-fat, half-sweet one today. It was nothing short of amazing and paired perfectly with the chilly fall weather!

In preparation for the big race weekend, I've been busy cleaning the house since my dad is going to get here Thursday afternoon. I'm trying to tackle the big stuff like vacuuming the house and cleaning the bathrooms. That way I'll just have a little touch-up to do the night before he gets here. I took a break from cleaning because I worked up quite an appetite. Dinner tonight was........you guessed it. My favorite little salad. In my defense, I don't really have a choice but to have it in blocks of two nights in a row because of the avocado. You gotta use those things up! I did manage to snap my own picture this time.

The rest of the evening is a little up in the air. I will either a) get motivated and clean some more, or b) get lazy and crash on my couch to read. Kendra loaned me Born to Run and I'm pretty excited to get started on it. It's supposed to be very inspiring in terms of running - perfect timing leading up to the race!

Cinco de October...o?

Today was such a gorgeous day I found it mildly depressing to be stuck indoors working. The morning was fairly busy at the clinic since dental month is in full-swing and we're ending up with quite a full surgery schedule every morning. Once it calmed down, I realized I finally had time to work on the reception area display to promote our bi-annual teeth cleaning special. Everytime I have to come up with a display I immediately shift into "teacher mode". I wasn't feeling too creative this time but here is what I managed to come up with:

Nothing fancy but it gets the message across. Plus, I couldn't get too crazy because the doctors don't like anything that could be classified as "cutesy." They think it's unprofessional. I beg to differ but, hey, I just work there.

Once I finished up with that, it was (mercifully) time to go to lunch and I was starving despite the fact I'd had a snack mid-morning. Ryan picked me up from the clinic and took me to McAlister's Deli. That place reminds me of Panera - really delicious and fresh-tasting but I always get a little sticker shock at the bill. Our lunch cost almost $20.....that's madness. We were able to snag a table out on the patio and enjoy the weather while we chatted a bit. I had the Orange Cranberry Turkey Club with a side of fruit and Ryan had the Chicken Salad Croissant with some potato salad. Everything got two thumbs up and I even remembered to grab my to-go box so I'll have half of the sandwich for leftovers tomorrow. Ohhh, yeeaaahhh!!

Since I had such a late lunch, I had my usual light dinner. I think this is the third night in a row for this particular dish but it's so delicious I just can't resist.

This is a pic I pulled off the web from FitSugar because I keep forgetting to take a picture of my own. I like to layer this up in a clear glass like a parfait - it's all in the presentation, right? This comes together in about 5 minutes. It's just 1/2 of an avocado, 1/2 of a cucumber, 12 grape tomatoes, and half a cup of fat free cottage cheese. I really went all out tonight when I sprinkled some chia seeds on it as well for some added health benefits :)

Last night I finally finished reading The Girl With the Dragon Tattoo. Such a great book! So many twists, turns, and surprises that kept me guessing page after page. I lost a lot of sleep from staying up to read "just one more chapter." On Sunday we're going to rent the movie so I'm going to hold off on starting the next book until after that.

Tonight I'm going to relax on the couch with my pup and try to get to bed early. I have a busy weekend ahead!

Happy Friday :)