Simply Allie

Training week 7, 8, and 9: Injury

2011-09-19T00:47:00.001-05:00

So I’ve been gone for a little bit, and the reason is: my hip. As I mentioned in week 6, I was experiencing some serious pain after my 9.5 miler, and it kept bugging me until I finally saw a doctor this past week.

The good news: No major injury! I was worried that it was something that would sideline me for a long time (like a stress fracture), but that’s not the case. After seeing an orthopedic surgeon, I’ve been diagnosed with an External Rotator/Gluteal strain. Yup. I strained my hip/butt. He prescribed 4 weeks of Physical Therapy, twice a week (I start on Tuesday), and a couple anti-inflammatories before runs. Ibuprofen and I have become fast friends.

The bad news: it knocked my training off course a little, including 2 missed long runs (an 8 and a 10 miler).

BUT, it’s also encouraged me to do a LOT more cross training, including: reacquainting myself with my old friend the erg, some delicious stretching in yoga, lots of getting buff in the gym, and getting to know my new friend the bike!

Here’s a look at my training over the past 3 weeks:

A couple highlights:

Week 7 - Despite a sore hip, I finally got in some actual speed work. Paul and I parked in Westwood, ran a mile warm-up to the track at UCLA, and then knocked out 2.5 miles (no breaks in between!). Mile 1 – 9:36, Mile 2 – 9:28, Mile 2.5 – 4:28 (8:56 pace) – average pace: 9:25. We then jogged the 1 mile cool down back to the car.

Week 8 – (More like lowlights). Only 1 (very painful) day of running, 3 rest days, all in all this week wasn’t pretty. The best part was my triumphant return to the erg. I was pretty proud of maintaining a split under 2:30 for 30 minutes, especially considering I haven’t done a piece that long since freshman year of college.

Week 9 – Bike mania (and intense double-workout Sunday). Yesterday, I biked 23.17 miles. And today, I ran 9 miles and THEN biked 23.17 miles. And now, my lady parts would like to not see another bicycle seat ~~ever again~~ until next weekend.

Oh yeah, and on my run this morning I had a celeb siting. MRB and I passed Arnold Schwarzenegger, out for a morning bike ride with his body guard. I guess he doesn’t have much to do now that he’s not the Gov-uh-nator anymore.

Training Week 6: Womp Womp

2011-08-29T22:36:00.001-05:00

So, training this week? Yeah, not so good actually. First of all: I only ran 3 times. I also took 3 rest days. Here’s how it broke down:

Monday was supposed to be a 5.83 miler (my normal loop with My Running Buddy aka MRB), but about a mile in, I was experiencing some unfriendly rumbling in my tummy. 2 bathroom breaks and a shortened route later, I had to call it quits. 4 miles is really not bad (it’s actually what my training plan called for), and on the upside, running for the bathroom made me run faster than normal. But still – not a good run.

Tuesday was Michael and Sarah’s last day in LA before jetting back to Michigan, so Megan and I skipped our yoga class to hang out with them.

Wednesday, MRB and I knocked out an epic 9.5 miler. I was nervous going in, especially after Monday’s debacle, but my stomach issues did not return (thank goodness!) and we had a total runner’s high going. Pace was great, too, very comfortable just under 10:30. Towards the very end (last 2 miles or so), I started feeling a little uncomfortable in my right hip. Nothing major, though. (cue ominous music…. Dunh dunh dunhhhhh).

That night, I took my first ever ice bath:

and iced my hip some more with a bag o’ corn.

…but the next day I was sore. And limping a little. Yikes!

Thursday night it was feeling ok, so I thought, “hmm, maybe I should just go for a run and see how it feels. It probably just needs to get warmed up.” Very. Bad. Idea. Very bad. I did 3.5 miles with MRB, but was in pain, despite the fact that I was trying to take it easy. After we said goodbye at our usual spot, I turned to run the last .5 of a mile home and only made it a couple steps. From there, I slowly hobbled the rest of the way, pain shooting down my whole leg with every step. Paul even came out looking for me because it took me so long to get home.

Friday was a day of rest. I couldn’t have run if I wanted to, anyway. (More limping).

Saturday I went to the gym for some lifting. I’m hoping some strength will help whatever is going on with my hip (a friend suggested it might be IT band, so I’m doing some research). I also got in a good stretch afterwards and some foam rolling on my hip. I need to get one of those suckers to use at home. Definitely one of those things that hurts so good.

Sunday Yep, more rest. My hip is still sore, so I think the more time I can give it, the better.

That being said, I ran tonight, a nice and easy 4 miler. I concentrated a lot on my foot placement, and even spent some time working on changing my stride so I don’t land on my heels and land more on the ball of my foot like I’m supposed to, which felt the best on my hip. So far, so good.

Training Week 5

2011-08-23T23:51:00.001-05:00

Another week with visitors in town means another week where I didn’t quite hit my mileage. Well, at least my running mileage. If you count my cross train, I blew it out of the water! I’ll get to that in a sec. First, this:

A little of bit training:

A little of bit having fun:

Paul’s little bro Mike is out in LA this week with his girlfriend Sarah, and we’ve been having a blast showing them around town.

I planned on running Wednesday morning (the day they arrived), but instead we ended up waking up early to deep clean the apartment before I headed off to work, and before our guests arrived. 2 hours later, we had the apartment sparkling, which I guess counts as a mini-workout.

I haven’t completely thrown my training plan out the window, though. I left the whole group (Paul, Michael, Sarah, and Paul and Mike’s sister Megan) behind on Thursday night to tackle an 8.5 miler with MRB. Paul cooked and entertained the group while MRB and I knocked out the mileage at a respectable 10:27 pace.

After that beast, Friday was another rest day, which I spent on my butt at work and then on my butt in the car for 7 hours on my way up to the Bay area. But, on Saturday morning, I woke up naturally at 8am and set out on a lovely little three miler around quant little downtown Los Altos. The whether was perfect, the other pedestrians I met were friendly, and the pace was leisurely. I didn’t even track my mileage.

Then came the epic cross train. After my run, we all showered up and headed into San Francisco via train. From the train station, we walked all. over. the city. From AT&T Park to Pier 39.

From Fisherman’s Wharf

to Lombard Street

to China Town, and everywhere in between.

Later, we tracked our mileage, and all in we walked over 9 miles. If you count untracked mileage (like milling around on Fisherman’s Wharf, or a couple passes through the Ghirardelli store to get free samples), I would guess it was actually closer to 10. And those weren’t flat miles, either!

I was so sore afterwards.

Onto another week!

Night Runner

2011-08-16T01:07:00.001-05:00

First things first, let’s assess my awesome outfit for tonight’s run:

Lobster shirt and the mismatched gray capris + black calf sleeves combo? That is a recipe for hotness right there.

Paul had already gotten to the gym today, so when I left for my run at 7:54pm, he was already on the couch, beer in hand, dog in other hand.

Did you catch what time I set out? 7:54pm. Just in time to meet My Running Buddy at our spot by 8. I’ve said it before and I will say it again: I’m not a big fan of morning runs. Night running? That’s where it’s at. Now, if only I could find a race that started in the evening instead of the morning, I’d be a happy camper.

Of course, I do a couple things to stay safe while running at night. Especially since it’s already getting dark earlier. I’ve already mentioned one of them: MRB. Running with a friend definitely makes me feel safer than running alone. Paul also always knows when I leave, what route I’m taking, and what time to expect me back. If he’s not home when I set out, I’ll text him before stepping out the door.

I try to stick to well-lit routes:

and I wear a blinky on my butt so cars can spot me:

(Purchased online from RoadID – same place where I got the ID tag that I wear on my shoe).

And I always stick to the sidewalks, and look both ways before crossing. Especially in the dark, I make double sure that drivers see me before I cross, or I just wait until they pass.

I usually meet up with MRB later, but if I’m running by myself, I set out right when I get home from work when it’s a little lighter and there are more people out and about.

I’m fortunate to live in a nice quiet neighborhood. Still, I live in a city, and it’s important for me to run safe and be aware of my surroundings.

Of course, one of the best parts of night running is that I always sleep like a rock after a good workout. Goodnight!

Training week 4

2011-08-14T12:55:00.001-05:00

Another week behind me, and now I'm a third of the way to my third half. Here’s how my training went:

I forgot my iPod for half of my runs this week, so I don’t have times for those, but it’s amazing to me that on Monday I ran a 10:29 pace and on Sunday I ran a 9:22 pace. More than a minute/mile faster, and for a longer distance! Weird. Of course, not noted in the Sunday long run time were stops for 2 bathroom breaks, which gave MRB and I a chance to catch our breath before continuing, but still. I felt like I was dragging big time this morning! Especially at the end. About 3/4 of a mile before the end, we climb this super steep hill, and I was practically walking up it today.

I’ve still been dealing with some shin splints this week, but I’m trying a couple things, and they seem to be helping.

1. Working in a new pair of shoes.

This pair only has about 200 miles on them (I’ve had them since May), but I’m wondering if a little extra cushioning may help, so I’ve started wearing the new shoes on shorter runs, and will eventually switch to them completely.

2. Compression sleeves.

You can see them in the picture above as well. I picked up these compression sleeves from my local running store last weekend and have been wearing them for running and recovery since. They were kind of pricey (thank goodness I had a Groupon!) but if they help me get rid of the shin splints, they’ll be totally worth it.

3. RICE

After my runs I’ve been trying to take some time to elevate, keep my compression sleeves on, and ice my shins to reduce any possible swelling.

With these three things, I’ve seen some definite improvement, especially on my left leg. Right one is still giving me some trouble, so I’m being especially careful. I know that part of the problem is that I increased my mileage too quickly, but I’m in the swing of training and can’t really back down now. Also, it would be better to run on asphalt instead of the concrete sidewalk, but since most of my running is done at night, I think it’s safer to stay off the street. I’d rather have shin splints than get hit by a car.

That’s it for this week. Hope you all have a great Sunday!

Training Week 3 and a Fun Run

2011-08-12T02:14:00.001-05:00

Sunday I wrapped up week 3 of training for the Long Beach Half. I’m a quarter of the way there – I can’t believe how fast it’s going!

Let’s take a look at my training throughout the week:

After that run on Sunday, my legs were really feeling the previous day’s lifting session! My quads were mega sore.

To end the week, Paul and I participated in the OC Fair 5k Fun Run. It was… fun! The course started at the entrance to the fair grounds, took us out and around the parking lot, and then through the fair itself. Along the way, there were a couple “detours” you could take to play some of the fair games or go down the giant slide, but we decided to keep running past and save the games for after the finish line.

Overall, it was a good run, but a little disorganized. The packet pick-up beforehand was pretty confusing, which was causing some people to freak out, and as a result, the race started pretty late. I didn’t have a watch on, but it was at least a half hour after the scheduled start time.

Also, they could have used some more organization at the start line. It was a pretty narrow start for such a large crowd (I think they had over 1000 runners), and we got pretty bottle-necked. Some pace-group markings at the start line would have been nice as well. Because it was a Fun Run/Walk/Skip, there were a lot of kids, walkers, and first-time runners, which is great! It was so cool to see entire families lined up at the start together. But, a lot of these groups weren’t aware of race etiquette, and didn’t line up at the start line accordingly. The first mile pretty much became an obstacle course and we spent a lot of time dodging walkers, large groups blocking the entire course, and strollers. Not a big deal (it is just a fun run, after all!) but a little guidance at the start line could have prevented a lot of this confusion, and made for a better race for everyone. I do think that we lost quite a bit of time off our own pace in this first mile, because we were hauling at a good clip for the final two miles! Overall, we came in at almost exactly a ten minute pace, finishing in 31:01.

One fun thing about this race: Paul and I ran it together. As in, side by side. In all our years together (10!), we’ve never done that. We both ran cross country in high school, and we regularly complete the Turkey Trot Thanksgiving 5K, as well as Paul’s family’s own 4^th of July 5K, but we never actually run with each other. It was fun to spend that time together, and when we came across the finish line, the MC who was announcing the finishers’ names called us “Team Hoban”! Very cute.

Afterwards, we got free entry to the fair so we wandered around while all the booths were still opening up for the day.

First, we rewarded ourselves for a run well done with some Dippin’ Dots.

We also took a ride down the giant slide. It was one of the detours that we didn’t take during the race.

After contemplating some true fair food, we decided it didn’t really sound appealing and headed home for a nap in front of the TV.

Now I’m almost done with week 4! More updates coming soon!

I'm a sucker

2011-08-10T16:06:00.001-05:00

Having subscribed to a couple half marathon newsletters, active.com, and the like, I get a lot of emails about running. But, I'm particularly susceptible to ones like this:

That popped up in my email today. Registration for next year's OC Marathon and Half Marathon just opened, and if you register before midnight on Friday, you can get your entry fees for the super low prices of $70 (full marathon) and $55 (half marathon), The race takes place on May 6, 2012.

Having spent more than I would like to think about on race entry fees over the past few years, I'm definitely tempted. But there's so much that could happen in the next 7 months! Not to mention the fact that I'm already registered for 3 upcoming half marathons (Long Beach on Oct 9, 13.1 Los Angeles on January 15, and Surf City on February 5). What if I get injured? Decide I don't want to run half marathons anymore? Move up to full marathons? All my budgeted Allie Fun Money for August has already gone to fitness-related things like yoga classes, other race entry fees, and Groupons to my favorite running store! But it's such a good deal...

I've already fallen prey to one such email. This appeared in my inbox on February 15 - a full eleven months before the race:

And the very next day, I signed up. Seriously, though, $58 for a half marathon (including the Active.com fee)?? So cheap.

What's a bargain hunter to do?

(P.S. I'm super late with my week 3 training update. It'll be up soon!)

Santa Monica Sunset

2011-08-04T21:11:00.001-05:00

That sounds like a fruity drink, but it was actually a really beautiful run!

After work yesterday, my coworker Susan and I headed to Santa Monica for a mid-week run along the ocean. Susan is training for the Long Beach Half Marathon, too! She walked the race with her mom a couple years ago, but this will be her first time running a half marathon.

We've been discussing our training plans at the office, and decided to meet up after work for a 3-miler earlier in the week. Susan will often change into workout clothes before leaving the office, and then go straight to Santa Monica to run. I think this is a great idea - it can be hard to get motivated to head out on a run when you get home from work! Besides, the view can't be beat:

The weather was perfect, too - nice and cool under the palm trees, with a slight breeze coming off the ocean. We met at the top of Santa Monica pier, and then walked a block to our starting point at the senior center. From there, we ran through Palisades Park until we found the totem pole:

So random! We were watching for it, though - I heard about this run from my other running buddy (MRB), and looked it up online beforehand. After a quick photo op, we headed back. The run was exactly 3 miles, and we maintained a great 10 minute pace as we chatted.

We finished just in time to see the beginning of a beautiful sunset. I love having friends to run with! And I will definitely run this path again.

Fall

2011-07-31T20:19:00.001-05:00

I took one. On my run this morning. I caught an uneven sidewalk with my toe and went ALL the way down.

Somehow, in possibly the most graceful move ever, I managed to completely avoid injury. I landed pretty much on the heel of my left hand, and the top/side of my quad muscle. No bruise, no nothing. Except this:

That could have been much worse! Of course, all day I’ve been klutzier than usual. Tripping over the sidewalk and almost falling 3 other times, and then dropping my Starbucks in the middle of the Gap. Fortunately, no clothes were harmed as a result.

I also had a little incident with my sunglasses as I was walking out the door for my AM run:

11.45+19.25

I swear I just picked them up this morning and they completely just fell apart into 3 pieces on the counter. Weird. I picked up a new pair (for $11) from one of those cheap sunglasses kiosks today to replace them.

I kind of fell down on my training this week, too. Let’s take a look:

So this week, I undershot the mileage a little. Let’s just average the past 2 weeks and I’ll be all set.

I blame this guy:

The little bro and his girlfriend have been in LA for the weekend, so we’ve been seeing the sights and… not running. Oh well. Back to your regularly scheduled programming next week!

Of Second Winds and Spider Webs

2011-07-26T01:27:00.001-05:00

The start to my second week was… exhausting. I actually worked all weekend (spent a couple hours on both Saturday and Sunday in the office), and then was at my desk almost 2 hours early this morning as well. When I got home from work I was so exhausted I could barely think.

I considered taking a quick little nap, but figured it would do more harm than good, so Paul and I picked up the house a little bit, and then I suited up for my run with my running buddy (MRB). Fortunately, after a little bit of house cleaning, I was feeling better.

Thank goodness for my second wind! I did a little half mile warm up on my way to our meeting place, and stretched out my calves for a minute or two before MRB arrived. I felt a teeny little twinge of pain yesterday when walking down some stairs, and I think it might be a little bit of shin splints, so I’m trying to be careful about it!

For the first two miles today, I was dying. I feel like I’m kind of like that every time. Then, we always pause at this stop light just after the two mile mark (right in front of Fox Studios!). I catch my breath for about a minute until we get the walk sign, and from there on out, I’m fine. I don’t know what it is, but I really need that warm up I guess.

We had one little blip in the run – I forgot to take keys with me, and Paul was headed to the airport to pick up a friend, and wouldn’t be back until after me. Thank goodness he realized my error before he left and tracked us down around mile 3 to drop off a set of keys.

Other than that, our run was proceeding as normal until we were about 100 feet from our finish line. I ran right through a spider web. We’re not talking a strand or two brushing your leg, either; we’re talking full on massive spider web to the face. It totally freaked me out, and we had to quickly run to the nearest street light so MRB could check me for giant man-eating spiders. I did not want some big angry spider crawling on me! Blech. I get chills just thinking about it.

(Before I got that pic above, I had a couple self-timer fails when Obie came to investigate.)

Bed time for me! Goodnight!

Training: Week 1

2011-07-24T18:35:00.001-05:00

This morning, the alarm went off at 6:30am. After hitting the snooze button a couple times, and then reading through my entire Google Reader, I finally got out of bed 45 minutes later and made myself some breakfast. (Told you I was not a morning person! I actually set my alarm that early on purpose. I need some time to wake up before I do a morning run.)

While I fueled up, I read a couple pages of Born to Run, the book I currently have on loan from the e-media section of the LA Public Library, for inspiration. I’ll do a book review when I finish it.

Then at 5 minutes to 8, I headed out to meet my running buddy for a nice AM run.

5.43 miles: Check! My iPod died somewhere during the run, so I have no idea what our time was. Oh well! it was supposed to be an easy run day anyway.

Here’s a look at my training from the week:

Soooo, I may have overshot it on the mileage a little. Now I just need to work on speed. Except for Monday, my times were not what I’d like them to be for the race. Good thing I have 11 more weeks to get those up to (or down to, rather) par.

Morning Lift

2011-07-22T01:22:00.001-05:00

I’m not a morning person. I’m not necessarily that super grouchy, “don’t even talk to me until I’ve had my coffee”, person, either, but I’m definitely far from bright-eyed and bushy tailed. I kind of hate running in the mornings. And by “kind of”, I mean really. Nothing is more frustrating than a run where you feel sluggish, slow, and want to quit with every step. I’d much rather run at night when I’ve had the entire day to fuel, hydrate, and mentally prepare. Plus, the cool evening air certainly doesn’t hurt.

If I set my alarm to run in the morning, 9 times out of 10 I will end up not running, and then feeling guilty. And that 1 time when I do drag my butt out of bed, I usually regret it when I end up having a crappy run.

Walking isn’t so bad. Or, at least I’m not as good at thinking of excuses not to walk in my half-awake state. But recently, I’ve discovered I actually really like lifting in the morning.

First of all, the gym is practically empty at 7am. We use the gym at UCLA, and most of the undergrads are still snuggled in their beds at that time of the morning. All the weights were re-racked overnight, so everything is in its place, nice and orderly. Not enough time has passed for someone to walk off with the only set of 12.5’s or 10’s and place them next to the 50 lb-ers, or on the other side of the gym entirely. I don’t have to do battle just to get a bench, or awkwardly ask someone if I can rotate in while they are taking eons to rest (and admire themselves in the mirror).

I just plug in my headphones and listen to podcasts of a morning radio show I used to listen to in Chicago. It’s actually a nice, gentle way to ease into the day.

This morning, Paul and I set the alarm for 6. When it first went off, we both tried really hard to think of a good reason to skip the gym, but despite our best efforts, we were stumped. 30 minutes later we were out the door and on the 405. On the drive up, we split a banana.

This morning I spent about 45 minutes on arms, a quick 5 minutes to do some crunches, and then stairclimbed myself two miles closer to the sun in a little under 25 minutes.

Then it was a quick shower, a Jamba Juice (Berry Workout all the way), and off to work for me!

What about you, do you prefer morning or evening workouts?

Training Plan

2011-07-20T23:24:00.001-05:00

Today, I enjoyed this big ass salad for lunch - romaine, broc, corn, tomatoes, chick peas, pita chips, and garlic hummus. Who said salad isn't filling? I'm still stuffed from this beast.

I also ran 3 miles at a 10:20 pace. I can't believe it's already getting dark so early. Didn't we just hit the longest day of the year not even a month ago? Listened to a little Gomers while I ran. I’m a couple episodes behind, so I'm still listening to Season 3: Two Gomers Run a Marathon - the Sub-Five Strive. I had to make a rule for myself that I'd only listen during runs, otherwise I would have finished all the episodes months ago! It's nice to have something to look forward to on runs.

Training Plan

I had a hard time finding a training plan for this half marathon. For the past 2 races, I've used Hal Higdon's Novice plan. It's worked well for me (well, it worked better when I actually followed it - I kinda slacked while training for the OC Half), but this time, it didn't seem like quite the right plan for me. For once, I'm not starting from scratch. I run regularly and have a pretty good base built up right now, and I've been averaging about 12-15 miles a week, plus cross training and (more recently) lifting. I thought about moving up to Hal's Intermediate plan, but I despise speed work. Probably because I’m not very speedy. And it would require me to find a track, which I'm not going to do. Yuck.

I checked out a couple other plans, including this one on about.com. It's called an "Advanced Beginner" plan, which sounded about right, and it didn't include any interval work -- just some "race pace" speed work, which I really like the sound of. But, it didn't any include any strength training days (or my beloved "stretch and strengthen" days from Hal's plans).

So, using pieces from both plans, I put together my own plan. Here it is:

Of course, I’ve already deviated from it (heh), but it is what it is. I peak at 25.5 miles in a week, which sounds pretty intense. Hopefully it will do the trick!

Hitting the Ground Running

2011-07-20T00:43:00.000-05:00

Yesterday was technically my first day of training for the Long Beach Half Marathon, and I started with a bang. My training schedule actually called for a rest day, but it was the only day this week that my running buddy and I were both free, so we scheduled for Monday. (I haven’t checked with my running buddy to see if she cares if I put her name on the interwebs, so I’ll just call her MRB).

Even though we had just run together the day before, we banged out our usual course of 5 miles. I added on the distance between my house and our meeting spot on either end to end up with 5.83 miles total. MRB and I have been running together almost every week for a few months now, always the same course, but I’ve never timed us. I figured in the spirit of starting my training schedule yesterday, I should keep track of time. We were even faster than I expected!

55:32 was my total, and our 5 miles together were done in 48:21. Not bad, especially considering I was having some heartburn/stomach weirdness around mile 2, so I asked if we could walk for about a quarter mile. The average pace was 9:31.

Goals

For my past two half marathons, I've had a simple goal: finish. In the first one, I surprised myself, and managed to run the race in 2:10:25. My secret goal was really to break 2:11 (a ten minute pace) and I did! I was really happy with my time.

For the second one, I didn't train as well. I knew this going into the race, so again, my goal was just to finish. Throughout the race, I dealt with an upset stomach (thank goodness the OC Half Marathon organizers were well prepared with lots of porta-potties) and even ended up walking a little bit in my 12th mile. Still, I finished in 2:20:17, a 10:42 average pace. Not great, but I was ok with it.

For this half marathon, my goal is to PR, and come in under 2:10. That means I'll need to keep my average pace at 9:54 or lower. Considering I ran almost 6 miles last night at just over a 9:30 pace, I think I'm on the right track! Now I just have to make sure I can maintain that for double the distance, plus a little. (...gulp)

Blogging, Take 2

2011-07-18T23:15:00.001-05:00

So, way back 507 days ago, I had a blog. And then, I got a full time job (yay!) and life got busy. And then it stayed busy. I didn’t do much working out, but I did do a lot of working. Working long hours, and working on the weekends. And I really liked my job, so it was ok, but I didn’t have a lot to blog about. (Because no one wants to read a blog about me going to work, coming home, and going to sleep).

So then, I got promoted at that job! Woohoo! And I’ve spent another couple of months settling into my new position, which I love. Right around the same time, I also realized I missed having something to train for, so I set my sights on a second half marathon, which I completed on May 1st (more to come on that). And then, unlike after my first half marathon, I kept running. Novel concept, I know. And running has kind of become my hobby now.

So, of course now that I’m kind of into running, I’m kind of into all things running, too. I’ve added more and more fitness and nutrition blogs to my reader, I’m checking out running books from the library, I’ve signed up for 2 upcoming half marathons (soon to be 3!), and I’ve realized that I’m missing this little blogging thing.

So, this is blogging, take 2. Ready or not!

The Simple Things: Southwestern Chicken foil packets

2010-02-25T14:15:00.000-06:00

Most nights when I get home, Paul is there and has already retreated to his desk to begin studying for the night. He usually takes a short break to eat dinner with me, but other than that, I don't get to see much of him. He always has to study, but I work predictable hours and never have to bring work home with me, so I'm pretty much in charge of cooking, cleaning up dinner, and in general keeping the house clean during the week (not that the cleaning part always happens, but you know). I don't mind at all that this is my responsibility - I'd much rather put a podcast on my iPod and cook than read pages and pages of academic articles!

Yesterday, though, was different. Paul took his last midterm in his Statistics class yesterday and doesn't have any assignments due for a few days, so he took the night off from the textbooks. By the time I got home from work, he'd stopped by the grocery store to pick up a few things, cleaned up the whole apartment, and started dinner. I'd mentioned to him that I wanted to try a new recipe, so he got the link from me and went to town. Paul doesn't cook much (except breakfast. I almost always botch breakfast foods, but he makes a perfect omelet every time). When he does make dinner for me, it's usually spaghetti topped with Prego. I'm convinced he would live off pasta and spaghetti sauce if he lived alone. When he's feeling really lazy, he skips the whole pesky boiling water part and just dips bread in pasta sauce. I don't think you can get much easier than that.

The point is: Paul likes simple dinners. This one was so simple to make, he insisted that I was not even allowed to help. Not only was it simple, though, it was really good. (I can't wait to have leftovers for lunch!).

Here's the (ridiculously simple) recipe:

Southwestern Chicken Foil Packets
From Cheap Healthy Good (where else?)

2 rectangles of foil
2 chicken breasts
1 can black beans, drained and rinsed
1 cup frozen corn, thawed
1 cup medium salsa
salt and pepper

Preheat over to 450 degrees. According to Paul, this is the temperature at which everything cooks (because frozen pizzas are cooked at this temp).

Salt and pepper the chicken breasts, then place each in the center of a piece of foil. Top each chicken breast with about a half can of black beans, a half cup of corn, and half a cup of salsa.

*Cheap Healthy Good called for less of the toppings than Paul used, but we figured the more toppings, the better. Adding more black beans also helps stretch the chicken a little farther.

Fold the foil into a sealed packet. Place packets on a cookie sheet to avoid drippage on the bottom of your oven, and put in the oven for 35 minutes (give or take depending on the size of your pieces of chicken). We had some larger breasts (teehee), so Paul left them in the oven for 38 minutes and it was perfect.

Serve over rice.

Paul doubled the above recipe to make enough for some awesome lunch leftovers. But the awesomeness does not end there - Paul also insisted on cleaning up dinner (which is fantastically simple as well - toss the foil and you're halfway there).

Conclusion: delicious, filling, healthy, easy. This is definitely going in our weekday rotation. Heck, you could even make up the packets ahead of time and throw them in the oven when you get home for an even EASIER weeknight dinner. Did I just blow your mind?

During dinner, we watched this:

Wow. Fantastic movie. Pixar is great at making movies for kids that appeal to adults. I don't care how old you are, if you haven't seen Up!, you must. The animation is beautiful, and the way they portray such complex (yet universal) emotions on the faces of their animated characters is compelling. One of the most moving sections of the movie contains no dialogue at all. The overarching theme of rejoicing in the little things also spoke to me. (My husband makes me a delicious dinner just 'cause?? Win!).

So enjoy the simple things. Like this meal with a movie and someone you love.

Long time, no blog

2010-02-13T20:38:00.001-06:00

Hey, all! Sorry I’ve been gone for a bit. As usual for me, life change = less blogging. In this case, the life change was good, though: I got a full time job! (And this time, it’s in my industry!). One of the part time jobs that I mentioned in November became full time for me. It’s a great company – a production company that makes commercials – and I’m so excited to be taking on more responsibility with them.

Not only have I been slacking on my blogging, I’ve also been slacking in my running. In the month since the half marathon, I’ve run… 4 times or so. And I’ve only worked out a handful more times than that. Again, I’ve been using the full-time job as an excuse (I have a lot less daylight to work with now that I’m working longer hours!), but I think the truth is that I was a little burned out. Not burned out on running, necessarily. More that I was just at a point where I was sick of following a training schedule. I needed a break. Needless to say, that half marathon next month in Ventura is not happening. My goal is to run 2 more half marathons in 2010 (1 of them being the DisneyLand Half), so I’m going to make sure that happens. For now, though, it’s time to get back into running for fun and for health.

I received my copy of Runner’s World magazine in the mail yesterday, and it was a sign that it was time to get back on the road. While I’m adjusting to my new schedule (my first day of full time was only last Monday), my goal is to run 3-4 times a week and do other workouts 1-2 times a week. I got started on a good foot today, when Paul dragged me and Obie out for an easy 3 mile family run. Don’t be fooled – when I say “easy" I don’t mean it felt easy; it was just at an “easy” pace. It seems that in my month of laziness I haven’t lost much muscle – my legs felt fine. My endurance, however, has clearly suffered, so it will take a bit to get my lungs back in shape.

I was slightly consoled by the fact that Obie’s endurance is also severely lacking. He protested a few times throughout the run by stopping dead in his tracks. Fortunately, all he needed was a little encouragement to get back up and going. Hopefully that’s all it will take for me, too.

Homemade Convenience Food

2010-01-20T00:12:00.001-06:00

As I watch another episode of the Biggest Loser (LOVE it. I really want to meet Jillian Michaels. How cool would that be to go to lunch with her?). Anywho, as I watch another episode of the Biggest Loser, I see the same thing over and over again. Many of the severely overweight people on the show got that way from eating out constantly. Some of them don’t even know how to cook.

This completely blows my mind. Mind you, I’m not a very good cook (what I lack in mad skills I make up for in adventurousness), but give me a recipe, and I’ll give it a try. My theory is that if you can read (and occasionally Google), you can cook. Granted, I am blessed by the fact that Paul is NOT a picky eater. If I cook it, he’ll eat it. Worst case scenario, I hear, “eh, I wouldn’t make this again.”

I am also baffled by people that eat out constantly because not only would I be FAT, I would be POOR. Right now we almost never go out to eat because we’re watching the budget, but even when we had some fluff in the bank account it was a special occasion.

Back to the Biggest Loser – Don’t get me wrong. I get the argument. Eating out is easier because it’s faster. You’re busy, I’m busy, we’re all busy, and sometimes you need to just grab something and go. And bananas and Fiber One Bars get old after awhile.

CONCLUSION (you knew I’d get there eventually): We need a grab and go option. Especially for the mornings when we’re both running around like crazy people trying to get our butts out the door.

Enter breakfast burritos. Thanks to some link love at Cheap Healthy Good, I stumbled upon this gem at The Simple Dollar. Breakfast burritos aren’t really my style – I like sweet things in the morning. Give me some delicious oatmeal any day of the week… or every day of the week. However, I knew that Paul would LOVE them. His favorite breakfast is something like this: eggs and Southwestern flavors. Salsa = good, in his book. Also, if you have 3 minutes in the morning, you can have a breakfast burrito on your way out the door.

What you need:

An hour or so to make the burritos. I had MLK, Jr. Day off, so I set aside a little time for this project.

2 dozen eggs (I used Egg Beaters: 1 carton + 2 1/4 cups of a second carton)

4 cans black beans

Many burrito-sized tortillas (The Simple Dollar used 32. I only used 22)

Veggies galore. I used most of 1 large onion, 1 green pepper, 1 red pepper, and 1 jalapeno.

I also added 1 cup cheese.

Salsa (good in Paul’s book, remember?)

Saran Wrap

Start with a big stock pot. Add all the veggies and sauté in a little cooking spray until soft (a few minutes). Pour in the eggs. Cook the eggs, constantly scraping the bottom of the pan. When the eggs are mostly cooked, add the black beans (drained and rinsed). At this point I also added 1 cup of shredded Mexican 4-Cheese Blend. When the eggs are thoroughly cooked, spoon into burrito shells (1/2 C. per shell). Top with 1 tbsp salsa, roll up (see below), and wrap in saran wrap. Then pop those bad boys in the freezer.

When you’re ready to eat, throw one in the microwave for a few minutes. The Simple Dollar recommends 2 minutes on defrost and about a minute and a half on high, but of course microwave ovens vary.

These burritos weigh in at 364 calories each. (Spark it). With almost 20 grams of protein per serving, they’re sure to keep you full until lunch.

(Oh yeah, and did I mention these are cheap? The Simple Dollar calculates them to cost around 70 cents each. Mine might cost a little more thanks to fewer burritos, more veggies, and Egg Beaters, but still. Even McDonald’s can’t beat that!)

13 Weeks to 13.1: I did it!

2010-01-10T18:41:00.001-06:00

WooHoo!

First things first: Happy Birthday, Mom!!

So here it is:

The Race Recap

Before the race: Woke up at 5:30 am. Who does that? WAAY too early. Drove over to Santa Monica, parked, and did a little warm up run. Paul left and headed for Mile Marker 4 around 7am. I lined up between the 2:10 and 2:20 pace signs, and was able to stay pretty warm because there were so many people around me. The announcers were getting everyone pumped up and told us that Santa Monica, CA was the warmest place in the country this morning – 63* at race start!

Sunrise on the beach. Pretty awesome way to start a race.

A cool thing: The Santa Monica noise restrictions wouldn’t allow them to play a taped recording of anything (including the National Anthem) before the race. Instead, a runner led us over the speaker system as we all sang it together. I think it was WAY cooler that way, anyway. It was kind of amazing to be standing there with thousands of people, all singing together, watching the sun come up over the ocean.

Starting line: At 7:13 (get it? – 13.1 miles, 7:13am? They like 13’s) the race began. I was near the middle/back so it took me about two and a half minutes to cross the start line.

Mile 1: Running along the boardwalk in Venice Beach is really interesting. Lots of crazy colorful shops (for example: “Doctor 420: Medical Marijuana Evaluation Center”) and outdoor gyms for the beach-side body builders Venice is famous for.

Mile 2: The first Aid station. I grabbed a water from one of the awesome volunteers. Note to self: Running + Drinking = more water on your face and chest than in your mouth. After that, I took 2-3 walking steps through the aid stations so I could actually hydrate.

Mile 3: “Hey, I’m managing to hit exactly 10 minute miles without really trying. Awesome!”

Mile 4: Paul was there cheering me on. I tossed him my jacket (which I had tied around my waist at mile 1).

Mile 5: The course was an out-and-back along Venice Blvd. It was in mile 5 that the first place runner passed me going the other way. All of us plodders cheered. Then we thought, “holy crap, how do you even GO that fast?!?” The crazy part was how far he was ahead of the second guy. It was a huge gap - maybe a whole mile. Ridiculous. (Update: turns out the first place guy finished 4 minutes before the second place guy. He averaged a 5:17 mile, so yeah – almost a mile between them).

Mile 6: U-turn on the course. All I could think was, “Headed home!!”

Mile 7: My fastest mile of the course at 9:50. After running the first couple miles at a 10 minute pace, I started doing negative splits hitting 9:58, 9:55 a few times, and finally 9:50. After mile 7 my pace got a little slower again and settled around a 10:00.

Mile 8: “Only 5 miles left! Only 5 MILES? I am a crazy person.”

Mile 9: A few spectators were holding up a great sign: “Run Now. Beer later.” Awesome.

Mile 10: Paul and our friends Mal and Chris were there to cheer me on! Totally gave me a much-needed boost as I started the last 3.1. I actually picked up my pace a little!

Mile 11: “cough cough spit. Ew. Swallowed a bug.” Mmmmm, protein. Also, only 2 miles left. I told myself if I could make it 11 miles, I could power it out for 2.

Mile 12: From Mile Marker 12 to the finish line was the longest mile ever. Literally. Since they didn’t mark mile 13 (the finish line was only .1 of a mile later, after all), it was loooong. I really really wanted to walk, but I kept telling myself, “less than 1 mile. You’ve come this far, you can’t stop now!” and something a high school cross country teammate told me once: “You can do anything for a mile.” I always picture someone hopping backwards for a mile, and it makes me laugh. Fortunately, there was lots of support from awesome fans on the last mile. Best sign in the last mile: “Your feet hurt because you’re kicking so much ass!”

Finish line: YAY! I gave it a little kick at the end, but I honestly didn’t have much left. That’s good, though. I left it all on the course.

Stats:

My official chip time was: 2:10:25 (WOO! Even though I wasn’t racing for time, I really wanted to beat a 10 minute pace (a total time of 2:11:00) and I did!!)

Average pace: 9:57 minutes/mile

Place in my division (Women 20-24): 35th of 93 runners

Total finishers: 2671

No walking!! (except for 2-3 steps through the aid stations. But that doesn’t count)

My medal! The piece that says 13.1 spins within the piece with the green swooshes.

I’ve gotta say. At the end of this race, I could not fathom why anyone would want to run a full marathon. Ouch. Maybe my opinion on that matter will change in the future, but for now, I think the half marathon is just about the perfect distance for me. It challenges me (without killing me) and I can make the time to train for it. So… I’ll be running another one in 8 weeks! I’m headed north to Ventura to run the half marathon there with my cousin-in-law Heather. I think I need a few days to recover first, though. I’m walking a little funny at the moment.

13 Weeks to 13.1: Week 13 Recap

2010-01-09T20:41:00.001-06:00

It’s finally here! All this hard work will finally pay off (hopefully) tomorrow morning! I’m a little nervous, and a little excited. I hope I sleep ok tonight.

I think I’m all ready, though. Now it’s just time to trust my training.

I’ve loaded up my iPod with a bunch of my favorite podcasts, and it’s fully charged.
My race clothes are clean and laid out:

I’ll be carb-loading tonight with some pizza.
I picked up my race packet today with my race number and chip timer.
I’ve been hydrating all day.

I think I’m all set! I had 3 runs this week as I tapered: 4, 3, and 2 miles on Tuesday, Wednesday, and Friday morning. I’ve done all I can do! Stay tuned tomorrow for a recap on THE RACE!

A little spice in life

2010-01-06T00:43:00.001-06:00

Well, that didn’t take long. I’ve only been back in La-La-land for 3 days and I’ve already cracked my new cookbook that was a Christmas gift from my friend Kyle (remember her from our visit in Austin?) . The verdict? So far so good!

The first recipe I decided to try was Corn Chowder with Pepper Jack Cheese. The recipe was really easy, and quite tasty! The pepper jack cheese gives it a great little kick. I mean, who doesn’t need a little spice in their life (especially on a Tuesday)? Here’s the recipe:

Corn Chowder with Pepper Jack Cheese

From The $7 a Meal Healthy Cookbook*

2 tbsp olive oil (I used about 1 tbsp)

1 yellow onion, chopped

1 package taco seasoning mix

2 C canned creamed corn (I used one can, even though its technically only 1.75 cups. Why do they do that, anyway??)

20 oz. chicken broth

1 1/2 C water

2 C shredded pepper jack cheese

2 tbsp plain flour

In a large stock pot, heat the oil over medium heat. Add onion and sauté until tender, about 4 minutes. Sprinkle taco seasoning over the top and stir. Add the creamed corn, chicken broth, and water. Bring to a simmer and cook for 10 minutes, stirring occasionally.

Meanwhile, toss the cheese and flour together in a bowl. Add to the soup and lower the heat. Stir consistently for 2-3 minutes, until the cheese is melted and the soup has thickened.

Note: There was a little too much onion in this recipe for me. Not that the flavor was too super oniony, I just don’t really like the texture of that many sautéed onions. I think next time I’d reduce the onion by half (maybe even more) and throw in a handful or two of frozen corn so it still has some substance.

The one thing that made this recipe a little more time consuming for me was the fact that I couldn’t find shredded pepper jack at the grocery store. Instead, I bought a block of cheese and broke out the grater. When I finished shredding 2 cups worth, I had a little cheese left, so I finished shredding it up, combined it with some shredded cheddar, and made some black bean and cheese quesadillas to go with dinner. Not only were the ‘dillas yummy, they also added something to the meal. I don’t think corn chowder alone would have been substantial enough for dinner.

Bonus on the healthy cookbook: nutrition facts are already calculated! (Recipe makes 6 servings, nutrition facts are per serving)

Calories: 370

Fat: 10g

Protein: 6g

Cholesterol: 35mg

Sodium: 671mg

The book also shows calculations for the cost. This one is super cheap: $4.90 for the whole recipe! I did my own calculations for this recipe to see how accurate that was, and it was SO close! I came up with $4.93. I thought my cost would be above that considering groceries (and everything else) are more expensive here. I guess the Costco membership helps, though. For example, this is how we buy taco seasoning:

What? We like tacos, ok? Got a problem??

I really like this cookbook so far because almost every recipe in it has really realistic ingredients. I hate buying a whole jar/box/whatever of something to end up using it only once! *coughcough*RachelRay*coughcough*. (Don’t get me wrong, I love RR, but I have no idea how I’m going to use that whole dang jar of coriander). Conclusion? You will definitely be seeing more recipes from this book. Success!

*Note: I do not get anything from Amazon.com or the author for talking up this book. I just like it. If, however, Chef Susan Irby would like to send me a little dough for the shout-out, I wouldn’t mind :). Seriously, though, should I ever be given anything (moo-la, free stuff, etc) to review any product on this blog, I’ll definitely let ya’ll know. I don’t really see that happening anytime soon, though.

13 Weeks to 13.1: Week 12 Recap

2010-01-04T01:17:00.001-06:00

I am officially 1 week from the race! Crazy!!

Here’s what my workouts looked like:

Stretch and Strengthen - Monday, December 28, LOOOONG stretch after my10 mile run

5 mile run – Thursday, December 31, 5.23 mile run with my father-in-law – 49:19, 9:25 pace

3 mile run or cross train - Wednesday, December 30, 3 miles on the treadmill – 29:57, 9:58 pace

5 mile run – Friday, January 1, 5.23 mile run by myself – 49:21, 9:26 pace

Rest - Tuesday, December 29

60 minutes cross train – Saturday, January 2, 60 minutes on the ergometer, averaged 2:36/500m, 21spm, 11474 total meters

11 mile run – hasn’t happened (yet)

So today, I set out for my last long run. And… it just wasn’t clicking. A lot of factors came together to convince me that the long run would be better if attempted tomorrow. These factors include:

Tight calves! I made it a little over a mile today, but had stop to stretch THREE times, and wasn’t feeling any better. Ouch. I ended up walking back home.
I haven’t had a rest day since last Tuesday. This was a really high mileage week for me, and my body was tired.
It’s hot here! When I set out, it was around 2pm, so the sun out and it was about 75*. I never thought I’d say it, but running in 30* weather was nice!
I think I might be getting sick :(. I am praying that I’m wrong, but after my run my throat felt a little scratchy. Talk about bad timing!

I’m hoping hoping hoping that I can stave off a cold until after the race (because really, that would suck a lot). When I got back from my 1.25 mile run/1.25 mile walk home, I was exhausted. I fell asleep on the couch for 2 hours! Fortunately, I felt much better afterwards. I’m going to continue getting lots of sleep this week and eating well, and I’m keeping my fingers crossed that the oncoming cold was just a figment of my paranoid imagination. I’m in the home stretch!

Happy 2010!

2010-01-03T00:11:00.001-06:00

A few nights ago as we were toasting the new year, I reflected on our exciting 2009. Our whole lives have changed since this time last year!

In January 2009, we were residing happily in Chicago, working normal day-jobs, and hanging out with our friends at one of Chicago’s many sports bars on the weekends. Since then, Paul was accepted the PhD program at UCLA and we packed up all our stuff and moved to the other side of the country. Now, we live in a far-away land where it’s always 75* and sunny. Weird!

During our move to Los Angeles, we embarked on the adventure road trip of our lives (at least so far) and arrived in our new home with some great memories and stories to tell.

A few other things have changed as well. Paul took a large pay-cut to go back to school, and since I’m back to an entry level job in the crazy entertainment industry, I’m also making less than I was in Chicago. Good thing we’re practiced at living on a budget. Our whole lives are like frugal February now!

I think one of the biggest changes since the move is how much we’ve learned about ourselves. We’ve found we don’t need a lot of money to be happy (we’re pretty happy on a Saturday night with a cheap bottle of wine and a few board games). We’ve also learned that it’s harder to be so far from friends and family that we thought. We need to make more of an effort in 2010 to make new friends in LA. In Chicago, it was a lot easier to just “import” friends (aka convince them to move from Michigan or Milwaukee!).

As I write this, I’m sitting on a plane high above the Midwest (plane rides – another thing we’re getting used to!) thinking about how blessed we are. Even though we don’t have a lot of money right now, we have a lot of other things. We have family and friends that we love and that love us. We have been given amazing opportunities to shape our careers. And, we are stronger in our marriage and friendship than ever.

So here’s to the craziness that was 2009, and let’s hope 2010 beings even more blessings!

Cheers!

13 Weeks to 13.1: Week 11 Recap

2009-12-31T19:35:00.001-06:00

I know that I’m well into week 12 now (so close to that half I can smell it!) but I thought I’d catch you up on what I’ve been up to on this extended Michigan holiday. I must admit, it’s been incredibly hard to keep up with my workouts when all I want to do is hang out with family and friends and eat all the delicious Christmas treats (not to mention the abundance of alcoholic beverages available).

Fortunately, I’ve kept up with my workouts (though the order in which I did the workouts is jumbled as usual). I’ve also managed to eat decently well/not drink too much. It helps to have that race in the back of my mind – I find I actually don’t want to eat all the rich food that I know will give me a stomach ache later.

Here’s my workouts this week:

Stretch and Strengthen: Sunday, December 20, 25 minutes of stretching

5 mile run – Tuesday, December 22, 3 miles on the treadmill – 31:43, 10:34 pace, 2.36 miles outside – 23:25, 9:56 pace

3 mile run or cross train: Wednesday, December 23, 2.64 miles, didn’t keep track of time

5 mile run: Sunday, December 27, 5 miles on the treadmill – 50:40, 10:08 pace

Rest: Thursday, December 24 and Saturday, December 26

60 Minute cross train: Friday, December 25, 50 minutes on the erg, 9408 meters, 21 strokes per minute

9 mile run: Monday, December 28, 10 miles on the treadmill – 1:40:00, 10 minute pace

First of all, let me bring your attention to my long run this week – DOUBLE DIGITS, BABY! Another PDR (personal distance record) for me. And I did those ten miles at exactly a 10 minute pace. Boo-ya! My training plan recommended 9 miles this week and 10 for the long run next week, but I decided to bump these last two weeks up by a mile each to make it 10 and 11. Basically, I just wanted to give myself a little boost of confidence on race day. If the longest run I’d ever had before the race was 10 miles, I’d have another 3.1, or a 5K, to go. That seems like a long way! However, if I can do 11, I KNOW I can power out another 2 miles to make it to 13. Just a mental thing for me.

Two notes on this week’s training:

First of all, it was tough to get outside this week! In Detroit, the roads were clear (even if the sidewalks weren’t). However when we arrived in Grand Rapids we were greeted by this:

Not exactly ideal conditions for a run. Sadly, in GR I was confined to the treadmill (which I’ve discovered I really really hate. Yuck!)

Second, I had an opportunity to do some cross training this week in my in-laws awesome basement gym. They have a treadmill, elliptical, Nordic Track cross country ski thing, and my long lost friend, the ERG! I’ve mentioned before on this blog that rowing was my first love when it comes to sports. I really enjoyed being on the crew team in high school and for a year in college, even if the erg (rowing machine) was sometimes the bane of my existence. But on Christmas morning it was raining, and the erg was calling my name. I did a nice easy 50 minute piece, sticking around a rate of 2:40/500 meters and a stroke rate of 21 strokes per minute. It was actually really enjoyable (though my back was REALLY sore for the next few days. I haven’t used those muscles in a while!).

I’ve always been more of a slow-and-steady athlete (as is exhibited by my slow, but consistent pace during runs). Needless to say, the 2000 meter races I participated in on the crew team were not exactly my forte.

Clearly, I do not know this person. But he is showing off the ergometer (or erg) quite well. (photo from Concept2)

I’m doing well on week 12 so far, and we’re heading home to California on January 2. Just in time for me to do my last long run of my training in the warm weather before I start my taper week.

Stay tuned for a recap of my Christmas (including all my awesome blog-related gifts). It was a very bloggy Christmas indeed!

13 Weeks to 13.1: Week 10 Recap

2009-12-23T09:04:00.001-06:00

This week was a little rough on the training front, but I managed to get all my workouts in. Paul was a really big help this week, and definitely got my butt moving. First of all, he ran with me twice this week (the 3 miler on Wednesday and Thursday's scheduled 5 mile run on Saturday). Even though we live in a safe, family-oriented neighborhood, I don't like running after dark by myself. And since the sun now sets well before I get home from work, I either need to get my workout in in the morning (which I hate) or run inside (also not a great option). It's nice to run with Paul, though. I feel like there's strength in numbers, and he's such a big guy that he's like my bodyguard. I also like having him around in case I trip and fall in the dark, as klutzes like me are apt to do. Plus, it's really nice to just spend some time together.

The other way Paul helped me this week was when he dragged me to the gym on Monday. I was planning to switch my Sunday long run with my Monday stretch and strengthen, but come Monday I was just in a blah mood and really not feeling the run. Fortunately, he pressured me into going to the gym, and even ran next to me to keep me going for the second half of my run when I really just wanted to quit. For some reason, everything was hurting on the treadmill on Monday (not an injured hurt, just a sore hurt), and I didn't hit any kind of stride until mile 5. Before that, every step was torture. Of course after the workout I felt better and was glad I'd done it.

My workouts this week looked like this:
Monday: Stretch and Strengthen (lazy me skipped it, but made it up on Saturday)
Tuesday: 5 mile run (5.11 miles - 51:06, 10:00 pace)
Wednesday: 3 mile run (3 miles - no idea how much time. We just ran and talked)
Thursday: 5 mile run (Our company Christmas party was on Wednesday night, so there was no way 5 miles was going to happen on Thursday morning)
Friday: Rest or east run (more rest)
Saturday: Rest (Morning: 1 hour of pilates to make up for Monday, Evening: 5.05 miles - 50:04, 9:55 pace)
Sunday: 10K (The following day's stretch and strengthen workout: 25 minutes of stretching)
Monday: Stretch and Strengthen (the previous day's 10K - 1:01:56, 9:59 pace)

Now, we're in Michigan visiting family for the holidays! Fortunately, it's not too cold, since almost all the rest of my training will be done here and not in the warm California weather I'm used to. I've had one more bad experience with the treadmill since I arrived, and from now on I'm going to try to run outside as much as possible.

Sorry no pictures this week, but I'll be sure to have a lot next week to make up for it!

13 Weeks to 13.1: Week 9 Recap

2009-12-13T23:00:00.000-06:00

This week was pretty fun. Around here, we've been preparing for the holidays. Our Christmas shopping is almost done! Also, a few days ago I put on some classic Christmas music and set up our mini tree.

Meanwhile, Obie chewed a candy-cane shaped holiday bone,

And Paul took a break from studying and "helped" me with the ornaments.

He is finally done with finals, so I'll actually get to see him this week! Woohoo!

This week I also celebrated my 24th birthday. It was pretty uneventful, but that wasn't such a bad thing. Paul had a final the next day, so after work I had a glass of wine, some Trader Joe's pesto pizza, and watched one of the Christmas movies my mom sent me in my birthday package. I love The Santa Clause! At my office, they also surprised me with an amazing torte. And I mean really surprised me - I jumped about a mile in the air! Paul and I are going to Cirque du Soleil's Kooza in Santa Monica next weekend to celebrate a little more. I'm really excited!

Onto the training. I slacked a little this week and didn't get all my training runs in. I didn't want to get up early to run on my birthday, so I slept in with the intentions of making up my Thursday run on Friday. That never happened, and my Saturday cross train didn't end up happening either. My excuse is that it rained all day Friday and Saturday. Not a great excuse, but that's all I've got. Fortunately, despite my 3 day break, my long run today was GREAT! It was also a distance PR for me. In high school cross country, my longest run was 7 miles. So today, I ran farther than I have ever run before! Pretty cool.

My run today was so long that I wasn't sure I could remember the whole route. I wrote it on my arm to make sure I didn't forget.

Here's how my week looked:

Monday: Stretch and Strengthen (40 minute intermediate pilates workout)

Tuesday: 4.5 mile run (4.57 miles - 45:12, 9:53 pace)

Wednesday: 3 mile run or cross train (3.06 miles - 29:15, 9:32 pace)

Thursday: 4.5 mile run (My Birthday! I slacked)

Friday: Rest (I rested)

Saturday: 50 minute cross train (slacker again)

Sunday: 8 mile run (8.02 miles - 1:20:39, 10:03 pace)

Training plan is here (I'm on week 8), previous week recaps are here.

I'm amazed that no matter how long my runs are, my paces are all about the same. I probably should not be running 3 miles at the same pace that I run 8, but that's just a comfortable pace for me. I'm certainly not built for speed, but maybe I'm built for distance? Only time will tell. (After I get a few half marathons under my belt, I'd like to try for a full marathon. It's on the bucket list).

No more slacking this week! I'm getting to a critical point in my training, and I want to make sure I go into the holidays strong (and stay strong throughout) so I don't lose all my hard work right before go time. Fortunately both our parents' have treadmills at home so I won't need to face the knee-high snow and blistering cold when we head back to Michigan for the holidays. It's just a matter of taking the time to actually go RUN!

13 Weeks to 13.1: Week 8 Recap

2009-12-06T19:59:00.001-06:00

Hey, folks. I had a pretty boring post-holiday week here. Nothing special training-wise either, except that I did most of my training in the mornings. I don't know if I've mentioned it before, but I really hate morning runs. It helps a little that I live in southern California now, so it's not too frigid when I get up. If I were still in Chicago, there's no way I'd be venturing from beneath the covers any earlier than absolutely necessary.

I just feel like I'm not awake enough yet to run, and every step is a chore. Plus, even though I feel like I'm running at the same pace, I'm always slower. Not that that's a huge deal, I just like running in the afternoons much better. That probably isn't great, since the half marathon will be in the morning! Oh well, I guess. At least I'll be up for a little bit before I actually have to race, and the adrenaline will be pumping, so maybe I'll feel more awake!

Here's how my week broke down:
Monday: Stretch and Strengthen (I'm counting my extensive weight-room work out from last Sunday as my Stretch and Strengthen this week).
Tuesday: 4.5 mile run (4.57 miles - 46:01, 10:04 pace)
Wednesday: 3 mile run or cross train (TOTALLY misread my calendar this day and thought I was only supposed to do 2. Oops! 2.04 miles - 20:24, 10:00 pace)
Thursday: 4.5 mile run (4.57 miles - 45:00, 9:51 pace)
Friday: Rest (I rested)
Saturday: 50 min cross train (I was feeling a bit run-down this week so I did an easier cross train: 3.44 mile walk with Obie - 50:42, 14:44 pace)
Sunday: 7 mile run (7.04 miles - 1:09:34, 9:53 pace)

(Don't forget to check out my previous weeks and training program)

Notice how my long run was at a faster pace than most of my short runs? That's because I ran in the afternoon today. I've gotta say I felt awesome on the long run. I could have run even longer! This really makes me feel like this half marathon is a possibility. Not just a possibility that I can finish, but a possibility that I can actually do it in a decent amount of time, too.

In one of the podcasts I listen to (Running with the Pack), the podcasters mention not setting a goal time for your first marathon, because then if you don't make it in that time, you'll be disappointed (even though you just finished a marathon). I think this is good advice, so for this half, I'm not trying to beat a certain time. I'm just going to finish and see how it goes. Next time (yes, I've already decided there will be a next time!) I'll probably set a goal like finishing at a ten minute pace (2 hours, 11 minutes). We shall see!

Now I will leave you with a little clip from a movie I watched today: Elf! Such a great Christmas movie. Tonight I'll be decorating our tree! Oh, how I love Christmas movies...

13 Weeks to 13.1: Week 7 Recap

2009-12-02T20:25:00.000-06:00

Well folks, it's official. I am over halfway done with my training for this first half marathon! I'm feeling good, too. I had a light training week this week (per my training program - week 6) which just happened to line up perfectly with the holiday. My previous week recaps are here:
Week 6
Week 5
Week 4
Week 3
Week 2
Week 1
The decision

The cool thing is that my training plan called for me to do a 5K this week, and I already had planned to do one! This year, we were in Minneapolis with Paul's family for Thanksgiving again, so we participated in the annual Life Time Fitness Turkey Trot 5K. It's become a tradition in the family - this was their 5th year running the race! (Only my second year). It's a great tradition, though. It's fun to get out there as a group and earn our dinner! We've also started getting T-shirts made each year in obnoxiously bright colors. It makes us feel like a team, and it's really easy to find each other after the race! Plus, it's fun when someone running near you sees your nickname and cheers you on. (Check out last year's bright orange t-shirts here). This year, we wore green.

I look cold!

This year was a little intense for Paul and I. Because of our move we had to fly in for the holiday, which meant a red-eye flight from LAX to MSP on Wednesday night. Our flight took off in California about half past midnight and landed just after 6 a.m. on Thanksgiving morning - a 3 1/2 hour flight when you take the time difference into account. Despite the fact that we were both exhausted when we boarded, Paul only slept for about 3 hours and I got less than 2 hours of shut-eye. When we touched down, we grabbed our bags and took the light-rail straight downtown to the Target Center, where we met my brother-in-law Pat.

The Target Center is where the Minnesota Timberwolves play, and it also houses Life Time Fitness (the race sponsor and the gym where Pat is a member). There, we picked up our race t-shirts, stashed our luggage in Pat's gym locker, and met up with the rest of the family just outside at the starting line. Fortunately I had had the foresight to travel in my comfy racing clothes, so I didn't even have to change.

Despite the extreme lack of sleep, the race actually went well. I was quite surprised - usually I need at least 7-8 hours to function. It helped that I have been training, and the fresh air helped keep me awake (it was about 40 degrees and clear - the best weather you can hope for in Minnesota in late November). I didn't push it or race for time. Instead, I ran with my sister-in-law Megan and we chatted as we ran. We kept it at a nice easy pace, finishing in 31:46. The race flew by and I felt great.

After the race, though, I was like the walking dead. I was so tired. Before we could head back, we had to stop by the Target Center for some after-race goodies. There was a ton of free stuff for the runners, so we grabbed a stash of these mini-Clif bars. Perfect size for a little pre-run snack!

And that's not even all of them!

Then we all headed to Caibou Coffee for a celebratory hot chocolate. Our race numbers had a tear-off coupon for a large drink, so we had to use it! Once we finished there, I dragged myself back to the hotel, showered, and passed out for 3 hours before dinner. Best. Nap. Ever.

The rest of the weekend progressed pretty much like Thanksgiving should. Turkey was eaten, games were played, movies (The Blind Side - SO good - and Star Trek) and sports were watched. We even hit the Mall of America for some shopping on Black Friday, and all us kids walked away with spiffy new phones! We hit the gym twice while we were visiting, and I got to use the beautful facilities at Life Time Fitness again. I also connected with my side of the family, talking with my brother (who is in Utah), and video chatting with my parents, Nana, and several aunts and uncles (who were spending the holiday in Atlanta).

Here's how my week looked, training wise:
Monday: Stretch and Strengthen (20 minutes yoga, 10 minutes pilates, + the 6 mile long run from the previous week)
Tuesday: 4 mile run (4.04 miles - 40:32, 10:01 pace)
Wednesday: 2 mile run or cross train (2.04 miles - 19:22, 9:29 pace)
Thursday: 4 mile run + strength (5K race (Sunday's workout) - 31:46, 10:14 pace)
Friday: Rest or easy run (I rested)
Saturday: Rest (1.33 miles treadmill - 13:29, 40 minutes arc trainer - 505 calories to make up for Thursday's 4-miler)
Sunday: 5K race (1 mile warm up run - 10:00, full lifting set - described below)

On Saturday, I tried to do a 4 mile run to take the place of Thursday's scheduled run, but I couldn't get into it. I was having a bit of pain in my calf and shin on my left side, and despite stopping several times to stretch it out, it wasn't getting any better. I decided it was wiser to listen to my body than to run through the pain, so I switched to the arc trainer for a little cross training. If you've never seen one, it's kind of like an elliptical with a little bit different motion. It looks like this:

I can really feel it in my quads, and since those weren't hurting I bumped up the resistance and went at it for 40 minutes. I followed that up with a bunch of stretching, so hopefully I won't be having any more issues with that dang shin.

On Sunday, I decided to take advantage of the weight room - something I don't get access to very often. After a 1 mile warm up on the treadmill, I pumped some major iron. For me, that means 3 sets (12, 10, and 8 reps respectively) of each of the following:
(note: all upper body lifts except Lat pull-downs are done with free weights, all lower body lifts are done with machines)

Shoulder press
Bench press
Bent row
Tricep extension
Bicep curls
Chest flys
Lat pull-down
Leg press (sled machine)
Inner thigh/hip adductor
Outer thigh/hip adductor
Leg extension (quads)
Hamstring curl
Calf raises

I must say I was pleasantly surprised at my own strength. I haven't done a traditional weight-lifting workout like the one above since this summer, but I guess all that pilates has been working. I have moved up on weight for every single exercise! I was doing bicep curls with 15's and overhead tricep extensions with a 25 lb dumbbell. While strength may seem unimportant for running, having muscle actually helps a lot by increasing power (more power = longer stride length = faster race times), stability, and balance. Upper body strength can also help you power up those hills by maintaining your arm swing rhythm. These are all good things, especially for a klutz like me!

All the training stuff stuff aside, I had an awesome time in Minneapolis for the holiday. I feel very blessed to have both been born into and married into amazing families. I can't wait to see them all (both my fam and Paul's fam again) in 3 weeks when we head back to the mitten (that's Michigan, for those of you that don't come from a hand-shaped state) for an extended Christmas and New Year's holiday vaycay. I can't wait!

13 weeks to 13.1: Week 6 Recap

2009-11-25T23:10:00.000-06:00

Hey, friends! Sorry I'm late with my post this week. I haven't fallen off on my training. I did have a pretty crazy week, though, for a few reasons:

Last week I got not one, but TWO part-time jobs with production companies! Go me! Hopefully these will beef up my resume with the Hollywood experience I need to get a full-time gig one of these days.
It was Jessie's last day in L.A. on Thursdayy and we lived it up with with a picnic and some museum-ing at the Getty Center, and dessert in Westwood at Diddy Riese (seriously - check out this deliciousness). SUPER fun! But on that day, I actually forgot about my run until after the sun had gone done. oops!
Paul and I had planned on a late night workout at the gym on Sunday night for my long run, but Paul got a migraine :(. He was able to stop it before it got too bad, but he still wasn't feeling the workout. Since we use the UCLA gym (and I go as his guest), I couldn't go by myself.

So, now that the excuses are out of the way, here's what my mixed up week looked like:

Monday: Stretch and Strengthen (50 minute pilates workout on Netflix. Stuck with the intermediate)

Tuesday: 4 mile run (4.04 miles - 39:42, 9:49 pace)

Wednesday: 2 mile run or cross train (no workout - I worked until 7:30 on my first day with one of my jobs!)

Thursday: 4 mile run (no workout - I was having too much fun with Jessie!)

Friday: Rest (4.04 miles to makeup for Thursday - 41:05, 10:09 pace)
Saturday: 40 minute cross train (skipped it)
Sunday: 6 mile run (40 minute cross train with lots of strength training to make up for Saturday)

Monday: Stretch and strengthen (30 minutes pilates and yoga video in the morning, made up my 6 mile run that evening at the gym - 58:10, 9:41 pace)

Check out my training plan (I'm on week 5), or my previous posts:

So, despite all the craziness, the only workout I missed was the 2 mile run on Wednesday. Also, check out my time on the long run! It felt awesome. I set the treadmill to 6.2 mph (a (9:40 pace) and just cruised. I even bumped it up (and up, and up!) during the last half mile to finish at about a 9 minute pace! Woohoo!

The treadmill and all the distractions of the gym were a nice change this week. Running inside makes me sweat even more than usual, though. When I finished, I was a sweaty, sweaty beast. Paul brought me a towel to wipe down my machine after the workout and he said,

"You're sweaty. and not in the cute, glowing way."

He was right, too. My shirt was soaked. Of course, about 3 seconds after that we ran into one of Paul's classmates and Paul had to introduce me. I make such a lovely first impression. Sorry for the sweaty handshake, Raphael!

In other news:

NEW SHOES!!!

Aren't they clean and shiny? They were an early birthday present from my parents. Thanks, Mom and Dad!. They are awesome (the shoes are pretty awesome, too).

You know what else is awesome? Running stores that know their stuff. I went to Top to Top here in Los Angeles. They had me try on a bunch of different shoes, watched me walk in them, and listened to everything I said. I bought a pair of Asics, and I thought they were great, but after two runs in them (a total of 10 miles) they just weren't right. I was even experiencing a little pain in my toes and on the balls of my feet. So I took them back, and they let me return them, no problem. Now that's a running store.

I thought the Asics were too big, but it turns out they were too small (good thing they have professionals there!). I have taken the new ones (a pair of Sauconys in a half size larger) on two runs so far (4 miles and 2 miles) and they feel great! Also, they're my favorite color: green! What a fantastic birthday present :).

I'll be running in these babies in a 5k race in Minneapolis TOMORROW MORNING!

Have a great Thanksgiving, everyone!

P.S. I have been blogging for one whole year! Woot!

I am thankful for my friends

2009-11-17T22:59:00.001-06:00

A few weeks ago, my friend Bill and I were talking as we anxiously awaited the arrival of our friends Chris and Jessie. Chris and Jessie are friends of ours from our days back at MUTV - the college television station at Marquette, and where we spent more time than we did in classes and where we made friends for life. C&J road-tripped it out here a few weeks ago to check out the big city. Chris is staying with Bill and doing the job search thing (woo!), and Jessie is checking things out before deciding where to make the big move. She's been chilling at our place and bonding with Obie for the past 2 weeks.

Anywho, Bill and I were chatting and he suggested we put together a pre-Thanksgiving Thanksgiving before Jessie heads back to Wisconsin - which is on Friday :(. So on Sunday, we all gathered for a fantastic feast. It was my first time making a Thanksgiving dinner, and I think it was quite successful! (Notice how Thanksgiving was Bill's Idea, but I made the dinner? Quite clever of him.)

The menu included:
Turkey (duh)

Since there were only 5 of us, I skipped the whole turkey and went with a few turkey breasts instead. I googled "how to cook a turkey" (I told you it was my first time!) and found the idea to cook it in the slow cooker. It was sooooo easy and delicious! I had about 4 1/2 pounds of turkey which I rubbed with thyme and rosemary and put in the slow cooker for 5 hours with 1 can whole cranberries, 1/2 cup orange juice, and 1/2 cup broth. The turkey was so juicy that Paul "carved" it by pulling it apart with tongs. Delish!

The slow cooker is a great invention.

A giant bowl of mashed potatos

7 potatoes for 5 people? Sounds about right to me.

Sweet potato casserole

From the first recipe I found when I googled. Mmmm, mini marshmallows.

Stuffing

The StoveTop variety. Quick and good.

Cornbread Muffins

From the recipe on the back of the cornmeal bag. Not fancy, but still yummy.

and Green Beans

Veggies were kind of an afterthought - just some frozen green beans to put something green on the table. We didn't even take a pic!

The whole spread:

Nom nom nom.

I was ridiculously excited when I figured out I got to use our gravy boat (which was a wedding git a year and a half ago) for the first time ever! NERD.

For dessert, we had no-bake pumpkin cheesecake that I found on Katie's blog. It was awesome.

Jessie and I had an great time cooking all day. We started the morning with a trip to the grocery store for all our supplies. Then we peeled ALL the potatoes and sweet potatoes (12 of them! Good thing I had my awesome Cutco peeler), made the sweet potato casserole (but didn't bake it or add the marshmallows), and put the turkey in the slow cooker.

(We took a little break so I could go on my 5 mile run.)

After I got back and cleaned up, we were back in the kitchen! We made the corn muffins, mashed the taters, and finished everything up! I even set the table pretty.

Yep, I googled "how to fold a napkin." NERD again.

Cooking is fun!

Meanwhile, the boys watched some football, and Obie enjoyed his own little Thanksgiving treat - a beef flavored bone.

It was all ready at about the same time, which I was very happy about. Also, everything turned out great! We had a wonderful time eating together, laughing, and just having a great time. I'm so thankful for my friends!

13 Weeks to 13.1: Week 5 Recap

2009-11-15T18:52:00.000-06:00

Podcasts are where it's at.

My best training buddy. I'm so sad I can't use my iPod on race day! (Race rules).

Music just doesn't do it for me when I'm running. I need something to engage my mind. Otherwise, I ignore the music and do math in my head. (Nerd alert). Usually I spend the whole run calculating my pace and what my final time will be if I maintain that pace. It's tedious, and it makes my runs seem way longer than they need to be (in a bad way).

I do not know how I would get through my training without my iPod and a growing list of podcasts. My iTunes is set to download mostly NPR stuff, including:

Wait Wait.... Don't Tell Me! - I volunteered at a few tapings of this show when I lived in Chicago and it was a ton of fun!
Car Talk - a favorite since we used to listen as a family on long car trips.
KCRW's The Business - a really interesting podcast taped right near here in Santa Monica. It's about the entertainment industry.
This American Life - my first podcast obsession. Ira Glass is awesome. They can be a little depressing sometimes, though, which isn't the best for getting me pumped up.
Fresh Air - I use this to fill in the spaces sometimes when I run out of other stuff. Sometimes interesting, sometimes boring.
The MIX Eric and Kathy - a morning show I used to listen to in Chicago. A short daily podcast of a few highlights from their show. Always gets a smile on my face while I'm running. (Obviously not on NPR).

I have a new favorite, though! A week or so ago, Caitlin over at Healthy Tipping Point wrote a post asking readers if they listened to podcasts while they ran. A TON of people responded, and they gave me a bunch of great new ideas! So far my favorite is Two Gomers Run a Half Marathon. It's about two friends that are originally from Wisconsin (love the Midwestern accents!) that decide to run a half marathon together and podcast about their progress each week. They actually already ran the half marathon on January 18th of this year, so their training schedule lines up almost perfectly with mine for this year. They've moved on and are now recording Two Gomers Run a Marathon, but I downloaded the whole season of their half marathon podcasts and have been listening to them non-stop. I'm almost done with them! They're so funny and genuine, and the two gomers are slow like me so it makes me feel better about my training. I highly recommend them, especially if you have no running experience because these two we're absolutely clueless when they started and you can learn along with them.

I also downloaded the Running to Disney podcast (since I want to run the Disney Half Marathon next September) and the Running With the Pack podcast, but I haven't gotten to those yet. I'll let you know what I think!

Now, on to the workouts:

(I am on week 4 of the training program)

Monday: Stretch and Strengthen (50 minute pilates workout on Netflix. I moved up to intermediate this week!

Tuesday: 3.5 mile run (3.69 miles - 35:36. 9:38 pace)

Wednesday: 2 mile run or cross train (2.04 miles - 19:05. 9:21 pace)
Thursday: 3.5 mile run + strength (3.69 miles - 36:06. 9:46 pace. Skipped the strength)

Friday: Rest (went on a 4.04 mile brisk walk with Obie and Jessie)

Saturday: 40 minute cross train (I skipped Saturday, so I'm counting my brisk walk on Friday as my cross train this week)

Sunday: 5 mile run (5.11 miles - 50:33. 9:54 pace)

If you missed them, check out my previous weeks of training:

Conclusions from the week:

I need to strength train! Between skipping it on Thursday and kind of slacking on my cross train (which usually involves strength exercises like lunges, squats, pushups, etc) I kind of missed the mark this week.

I got faster! All of my runs were under a 10 minute pace this week. Woohoo!

I really need new shoes. I got a pair in August because I needed new shoes then, but I didn't get them fitted by a professional and ended up buying a pair with way too much room in the toe box. As a result, my foot slid around a lot when I tried to run and led to some soreness in my knees. Not cool! So I went back to my old shoes, and now they're really on their last legs (no pun intended, haha). I need to get myself to a running store soon! Maybe that can be an early birthday present....

My sad shoes. See that worn spot on the bottom? Very bad.

Now I'm off to finish cooking some delicious Thanksgiving dinner. My house smells amazing. More on that soon!

Cajun Cookin'

2009-11-13T18:36:00.001-06:00

I guess that cooking class in New Orleans paid off! When I saw this recipe on a blog (I can't remember which one!), I bookmarked it because I thought it sounded like something Paul would like. He was born in New Orleans, and has always loved that style of cooking. I'm not usually the biggest fan of Jambalaya, personally. Don't get me wrong, the jambalaya we ate in New Orleans was amazing! It's just probably not what I would pick off a menu when presented with other options.

This, however, was fantastic. Not too spicy, just tons of flavor! Plus, it doesn't have a roux base (read: TONS of butter). In fact, it doesn't have any butter at all - just a little olive oil. Hooray, Cooking Light! Paul said this was his favorite dish that I've made ever, so it's definitely getting added to the rotation.

Chicken Jambalaya
Adapted from Cooking Light's Turkey Jambalaya recipe

1 tbsp olive oil
1 1/2 C. chopped onion
1 tsp minced garlic
2 chopped bell peppers (I used 1 orange and 1 yellow)
2 1/2 tsp paprika
1/2 tsp salt
1/2 tsp dried oregano
1/2 tsp crushed red pepper
1/2 tsp black pepper
1 C. white rice (uncooked)
2 C. chicken broth
1 can diced tomatoes (undrained)
2 C. shredded cooked chicken
6 oz. andouille sausage, chopped (I couldn't find andoille so I used Polish sausage)
2 tbsp sliced green onions

Heat oil in a large pot over medium-high heat. Add onion and garlic and saute about 6 minutes or until slightly browned. Stir in bell peppers and spices (paprika, salt, oregano, red pepper, and black pepper). Saute 1 minute. Add rice, saute 1 additional minute. Stir in broth and tomatoes and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer for 15 minutes. Add chicken and sausage, cover, and cook 5 minutes. Sprinkle with green onions.

It takes a little time, but it makes a ton of food (and the leftovers are just as delicious). You can check out the nutrition facts here.

To Whey, or not to Whey

2009-11-10T00:01:00.000-06:00

that's not a very hard question, actually.

Like I mentioned briefly in my last post, I often supplement my diet with whey protein. Protein helps build muscle, so I use it to refuel after tough workouts and help me get enough protein each day (got to hit that Sparkpeople range! They recommend I get 60-127 grams per day, so about 20-35% of my calories should come from protein). Plus, protein makes you feel fuller, which is always helpful when you're trying to lose weight.

The problem? Sometimes, it can taste really bad! I've tried several brands of whey protein, but this is by far my favorite:

Optimum Nutrition. It was on sale at GNC so we bought both!

We have it in both chocolate and vanilla in our cupboard, and it's great in protein shakes with fruit, sprinkled over oatmeal, or even just shaken up with a little milk or water. If you're just mixing it with a liquid, I recommend a shaker bottle to get out all the lumps. They have a little wire ball inside that mixes the protein with the liquid really quickly.

I'm always afraid to try a new kind of whey protein because a) it can be expensive, and b) you have to buy a big bottle of it! And if the flavor is gross, you're kind of stuck with it.

That's why I'm dying to try these little packets. Lucky for me, Holly over at The Healthy Everythingtarian is giving some away! Doesn't Yumberry protein sound good? I've got my fingers crossed! (If you want to win them, too, head over there and enter!)

13 Weeks to 13.1: Week 4 Recap

2009-11-08T16:58:00.003-06:00

Training went well this week. I definitely added some speed and have been logging some faster paces even though I'm adding mileage. Granted, I'm still SUPER slow. My "fast pace" is around a 9:45 mile. I'm ok with that, though. I've always been slow.

When I ran high school cross country, I was really lucky to have a coach that welcomed all levels of runners. Running doesn't take much equipment, and pretty much anyone can run, so the team mentality was the more the merrier! It was also a great environment to learn to run, because the whole team was really supportive of each other. When the varsity runners completed a race, they didn't go sit down - they came back out on the course and became cheerleaders for the rest of the team! Even though I was often one of the slowest (I just got more playing time than everyone else!), I really felt like an important member of the team. It made running fun, which is hard to do! In my opinion, high school sports are not about developing the elite athletes. They're really about creating lifelong athletes.

My senior year cross country photo. My speed limit is definitely a lot slower than 15 mph!

On to the workouts!
(This is my 4th week of training, but I'm on week 3 of the training program)

Monday: Stretch and Strengthen (40 minute pilates toning video)
Tuesday: 3.5 mile run (3.59 miles - 36:31)
Wednesday: 2 mile run or cross train (2.04 miles - 20:10)
Thursday: 3.5 mile run + strength (3.69 miles - 35:45 + 50 pushups and 100 crunches) (I also went on a 2.08 mile walk with Obie and Jessie on Thursday)
Friday: Rest (I rested)
Saturday: 40 minute cross train (40 minute strength and cardio circuits video)
Sunday: 5 mile run (5.11 miles - 50:45)

My average pace this week was 9:55.

I was a little intimidated by the long run this week because I haven't run more than 4 miles in a long time. It went really well, though, and I hit a groove as I passed the 3 mile mark and sailed home from there. Now I'm really looking forward to the 5 miler next week! I'm hoping it'll be even a little easier next time if I focus on getting pumped for it all week. I'm feeling strong!

SUPER sweaty after my long run. Gotta stretch!
I refueled after my run with a yummy protein shake. Orange juice + frozen strawberries + vanilla whey protein = delicious.

New Burger on the Block

2009-11-04T19:25:00.006-06:00

In our house, we pretty much stick to white meat. Chicken, ground turkey, and occassionally pork are the meats on our menus. We replace ground beef with ground turkey in recipes, and most of the time it tastes fine. There's one thing that just aren't quite the same, though: burgers. My Super Flavorful Turkey Burgers are an exception, but those definitely have a different flavor than plain ol' burgers, and sometimes, you just want a plain ol' burger!

Enter the new burger on the block: Ground Bison! When we were visiting our friends in Texas this summer, Kyle made us some awesome bison burgers for dinner one night and I was hooked. First of all, I'd heard of bison burgers and had them in restaurants before, but who knew they sold bison at the grocery store? I thought it was kind of "specialty." Show's what I know.

Also, it turns out bison is actually not that bad for you. As you can see below, it's a little higher in fat, but it's pretty close to ground turkey in calories, and packs a lot of healthy protein! Also, the increase in fat is ok for us, because according to our sparkpeople ranges, we're pretty low in fat most of the time. Sometimes it's a struggle to get in enough fat! (Hello, late night snack of almonds/spoonful of peanut butter). Sparkpeople recommends I get 32-56 grams of fat a day (about 25%-30% of my calories should come from fat), and I always try to be in on ALL my ranges (calories, fat, carbs, and protein + at least 8 glasses of water). Besides, your body needs fat to function!

*Nutrition facts were taken from what I had in my fridge: Tyson/Kirkland Signature chicken breasts, Foster Farms ground turkey, and Great Range ground bison. Sorry it's kind of hard to read!

In my opinion, bison tastes like what a burger should taste like. Maybe even better than ground beef! Needless to say, when bison is on sale at the grocery store, I stock up.

Speaking of new kids on the block, we have a visitor! My friends Jessie from college is staying with us for a few weeks. She's checking out L.A. to see if she wants to move here! Maybe we'll have a new neighbor soon... :)

13 weeks to 13.1: Week 3 recap

2009-11-01T15:03:00.006-06:00

Hello, everyone! My third week of training went pretty well, and I even added some speed! But before we get to that, this:

My scary Frankenstein pumpkin in honor of the non-scary Halloween movie of the night, Young Frankenstein! So good. Especially this scene.

After a little too much Halloween candy last night (we had NO trick-or-treaters and the fun size Snickers were calling my name!), I was ready for my long run today. Here's what my week looked like:

(My training program is here. Remember that since I'm stretching the training program from 12 weeks to 13, I'm actually only on week 2 of the training program).

Monday: Stretch and strengthen (50 minute pilates toning video)

Tuesday: 3 mile run (3 miles - 30:05)

Wednesday: 2 mile run or cross train (1.53 mile walk with Obie - 26:47. Kind of a weak cross train, but oh well)

Thursday: 3 mile run + strength (3.01 miles - 29:18 + 30 minutes of The Trainer's Edge Integrated Strength Training video)

Friday: Rest (I rested)

Saturday: 30 minutes cross train (Self Magazine cardio and toning workout video)

Sunday: 4 mile run (4.04 miles - 40:23)

Woohoo for sub-10 minute miles on long runs! (Must've been those Snickers that gave me a boost!) Next week I start adding on mileage. Also, I'm officially registered for the half marathon in January! I guess I'd better keep up with this training.

Revelation of the week: I love Mondays because I think pilates is so fun! There are a variety of pilates videos available on Netflix's watch instantly feature, and they're keeping me busy.

My makeshift pilates studio (computer hooked up to the TV). Obie likes to participate (aka sniff me and bring me toys while I'm trying to do the exercises), so he usually gets a bone to keep him busy while I'm working out.

Happy Halloween!

2009-10-31T18:38:00.006-05:00

Happy Halloween, everyone! We started the day today with some more yummy fall things. Using the same Trader Joe's Pumpkin Pancake and Waffle Mix, I broke out our awesome waffle iron - a lovely wedding gift - for the FIRST TIME! (We've been married for over a year). It was pretty cool. It's one of those irons where you pour the batter in, close it, and then flip it upside down. Just like the kind they had in the dorm cafeterias.

They turned out a little doughy, but still delicious. We topped them with some amazing pumpkin dip. Seriously - make this:

Pumpkin Dip

From Cooking Light (recipe and nutrition facts here)

6 oz. 1/3 less fat cream cheese

1/2 C. packed brown sugar

1/2 C. canned pumpkin

2 tsp maple syrup

1/2 tsp ground cinnamon

Place cream cheese, brown sugar, and pumpkin in a medium bowl and beat with a mixer at medium speed until well blended. Add syrup and cinnamon, and beat until smooth. Cover and chill for about half an hour.

Cooking Light says to serve this with apple slices, but it can also be served on pancakes or waffles, on top of oatmeal, with pretzels or crackers, etc! I'm mildly allergic to apples (because I'm weird) so I tried it on the waffles and crackers. I'd love to try it on oatmeal, but after this afternoon, it'll be all gone! And I just made it yesterday. Basically, it's delish.

Pumpkin carving snacks:

My Halloween night will be pretty lame. I don't have many friends here in L.A. yet, and Paul's studying for midterms all weekend (he is actually at school right now). My friend Bill is here, so we're going to carve pumpkins. Last year, I got pretty detailed, and it was awesome.

The little cute one is mine (Go Marquette!) and the big one is of course Paul's. I haven't decided what I'm carving this year, but hopefully it won't require superglue and a toothpick this time(oops).

After that, I have awesome plans for some non-scary Halloween movies including Hocus Pocus on DVR and Young Frankenstein from Netflix. Hopefully we'll get some trick or treaters!

13 to 13.1: Week 2 Recap

2009-10-25T18:47:00.004-05:00

Well, the half marathon is officially a no-go for Paul. With all he has going on in his first quarter of school, it's just too much. Maybe he can train with me next summer for the Disneyland Half Marathon in early September, 2010. This time around, he'll be the official photographer/cheering section/stuff holder.

My training is still going, though. I wasn't quite as on-track this week as I was last week, but I still think it's a solid week of training. Mostly, I just mixed up the workouts a little. My week went like this:

(The first part is what the training program indicates I should be doing. What I actually did is in parenthesis)

Monday: Stretch and Strengthen (40 minute pilates workout on Netflix)
Tuesday: 3 mile run (2.66 mile power walk with Paul and Obie - Wednesday's cross-train workout)
Wednesday: 2 mile run or cross train (I was lazy and took Wednesday off)
Thursday: 3 mile run + strength (3.25 miles - 32:17, Tuesday's workout)
Friday: Rest (2.77 miles - 27:45 + 25 pushups and 50 crunches, Thursday's workout)
Saturday: 30 minutes cross-train (I took Saturday off, too. Oops!)
Sunday: 4 mile run (4.04 - 41:16)

So, not the best, but certainly not the worst, either. I had a rough week motivation-wise, but I'm trying to shake off that funk and get back on track (both with regards to the workouts and other things). Now, I need to go finish cleaning. I definitely work better in a clean house!

My dog is a dog

2009-10-23T17:07:00.007-05:00

This post is not related to health at all. Well, unless you count that having a pet may help you live longer. But mostly, this post is about this guy:

Oberon, Obie, The Obster, Oberino, Monster, Booger...

When I go out of town, there are a few things Obie needs. He needs kibble and water, he needs a safe place to play with other dogs, and he needs a kennel with his pink towel in it so he can sleep at night. A tennis ball might be nice, and a pat on the head every now and then wouldn't hurt, but other than that he's a happy camper.

There are also many things he does NOT need. These include, but are not limited to:
(note - all of these things are taken directly from websites of boarding facilities near our new home in Los Angeles)

*Telling my pup that I miss him and will be home soon (I will miss him, of course, but he has a hard time with ENGLISH. Because he is a dog)

*Canine Full Body Massage and Acupressure (If I don't get a massage, you don't get a massage, pup)

*Field Trips to the beach (Obie actually really hates water)

*A professional photographer to take doggie portraits (I take too many pictures of him as it is)

This dog just looks P.O.'d

*An "Uber Suite" with a queen bed, modern decor, and a 42" flat screen TV (not even joking right now)

*Custom doggie treadmills (I don't even like running on a treadmill, and I get an iPod and a TV)

We had this great place in Chicago where we took him when we went out of town (and Aunt Lindsay couldn't doggie-sit). It had indoor and outdoor play areas, kennels for night time, and it was run by this woman who loved dogs SO much that she was almost a little crazy (you know what I mean? Yeah. You do). But she was great! She knew every dog's name, and loved them all. Obie would play all day, pass out at night, and come home and sleep for four days because he was so tired from all the fun. It was awesome. I think he thought so, too.

I think trying to make him run on a treadmill would just freak him out.

I guess the Obster will be spending Thanksgiving at good 'ol Petsmart!

Now, if you'll excuse me, he's eating my hair tie.

Photos from: D Pet Hotels, Furtographs, and Urban Dog Playcare

13 to 13.1: Week 1 recap

2009-10-17T20:10:00.006-05:00

All set for my long run this morning. Too bad my body didn't wake up until mile 3!

Good thing I had a brand new episode of Wait Wait...Don't Tell Me! to get me through it. I'm a nerd, but NPR pumps me up more than music.

The first week of my training went very well. I'm right on track so far, and already feeling faster. (Stuff in parenthesis indicates what I did vs. what the training program indicated).

My workouts were:

Monday: Stretch and Strengthen (1 hour yoga workout)

Tuesday: 3 mile run (3.31 miles - 33:30)

Wednesday: 2 mile run or cross training (it was raining so I opted for cross training inside - 20 minutes of kickboxing and 15 minutes of cardio dance. Also, I am really uncoordinated. No more cardio dance for me.)

Thursday: 3 mile run + strength (3.31 miles - 32:30, 40 minutes of targeted strength and 10 minute super stretch)

Friday: Rest (I went on a 1.5 mile walk with Obie)

Saturday: 30 min cross train (40 minutes kickboxing workout video, incorperating leg, arm, and core strength)

Sunday: 4 mile run (4.04 miles - 41:19)

Paul's been studying really hard this week, so he hasn't had much time to work out. He's still debating whether he'll have the time to train for the half marathon with his course load this quarter. Since we now have 12 weeks until the race, and the half marathon training program is actually only 12 weeks (I'll be repeating week 1 to make it fit), he is going to see how it goes this week before he decides what to do. We haven't signed up for the race yet, so he's not locked in to anything right now.

Again, you can find the training program we're using here. 12 more weeks to go!

Yummy Fall Things

2009-10-17T19:34:00.006-05:00

Good morning, deliciousness. How are you?

Yesterday when I was at Trader Joe's, I saw this Pumpkin Pancake and Waffle Mix and had to get it. Sounds yummy, no? YES! And then I took it up a delicious notch by adding chocolate chips... in a smiley shape to make them Jack-o-lantern pumpkin pancakes. It kind of failed, though. I think smiley-face pancakes is a skill I may have to work on before I'm allowed to have children. No matter. The result was still delicious!

Of course when I was at TJ's and the grocery store yesterday I managed to forget something. We were completely out of ketchup, so before lunch (hotdogs - definitely need ketchup), Paul ran to the grocery store near by to pick up some. He also got me this:

Oh Real Simple, how I love thee! (He's such a good hubby). I can't wait to dig in to all the easy recipes and fun fall ideas! A subscription is definitely on my Christmas list this year.

Paul is at school studying all evening, so I'll be enjoying a quiet night at home tonight. A glass of wine and a chick flick? I think yes. Have a good Saturday night!

Pasta with Zucchini and Chickpeas

2009-10-13T00:34:00.008-05:00

A new dish for a new start!

I saw this recipe on Cheap Healthy Good (which is coming back soon! Yay!) a few weeks ago, and it was just too simple to resist. The recipe is originally from Real Simple, so that makes sense. I've actually made it twice, and it's fast, easy, and really filling. The flavors are also really simple, but work great together.

Pasta with Zucchini and Chickpeas

From Cheap Healthy Good and Real Simple

3/4 lb pasta (I use spaghetti)

1 tbsp olive oil

2 medium zucchinis, chopped into 1/4 inch half moons

salt

2 cloves garlic, minced

1 can chickpeas, drained and rinsed

1/4 tsp crushed red pepper

1/2 C. grated parmesan cheese

Cook and drain pasta. Make sure to set aside 1/2 C. of the pasta water.

While the pasta is cooking, heat the oil in a large skillet. Add zucchini and 1/2 tsp salt, and cook until tender, about 4-5 minutes. Add garlic, chickpeas, and red pepper, and continue cooking until warmed through, about 2-3 minutes.

Stir together pasta, zucchini mixture, 1/4 C. parmesan cheese, and 1/2 C. pasta water. Serve with the rest of the parmesan cheese sprinkled on top. Makes 4 generous servings.

So there you have it! A super easy weeknight meal that's great for carbo-loading before a big run (we'll have to keep this in mind as we train!). Nutrition facts are available on Real Simple's website.

A new goal: 13 weeks to 13.1

2009-10-12T18:52:00.003-05:00

After a very successful September, our dedication to eating well and exercising was waning a bit, especially on the weekends. We needed some energy injected into our healthy lifestyle, and we needed a new goal. Working towards hitting a target weight just wasn't really providing the motivation we needed. Especially for me, since I was doing fine on eating well, but getting lazy with my workouts.

So, we set a new goal: Paul and I are going to run a half marathon! This was inspired by a few things. First of all, while looking for a good local 5K or 10K, I came across the Disneyland Half Marathon. Seriously, how fun does that sound? It's not until next September, though. I asked Paul if he was interested, but 11 monthes is a long time, so he suggested we find one to do before that. (I'm still planning on running next September, though. Anyone want to join me and Mickey?).

Another inspiration came from family. My brother-in-law completed his first marathon in Chicago yesterday, and he even finished 2 minutes faster than his goal! I think that's pretty cool, and I'm totally inspired to hit the road myself. Maybe a marathon is in my future. For now I'm going to start with a half, and we'll see after that.

So we started searching for a half marathon in Los Angeles, and found a perfect one right near us. There's no course map up yet, but the description has the course coming right near our house (maybe even within a few blocks). Plus, it starts and ends at the beach in Santa Monica - you can't get much better than that! (If you're interested in more info on the race in L.A., you can check it out here. To see if there is one near you, check here).

Yesterday, I looked up Hal Higdon's half marathon training program online (I'm doing the Novice program, and Paul's working on Intermediate). I entered all the workouts into my Google Calendar and Paul's agenda, and we started training today! The half marathon is exactly 13 weeks from yesterday. It seems weird to say we started training since neither of us ran today, though. The training program calls for Strength and Stretching on Mondays, so I did an hour long yoga workout and Paul hit the weights at the gym. Tomorrow we'll start putting on the miles, and we'll be on our way to 13.1.

I'm really excited about our new goal, and the training program is totally reasonable - I don't think I'll have any trouble keeping up with it. I'm a little nervous for the longer runs, since the farthest I've ever run is 7 miles (in high school cross country). The training program works up to the higher mileage, though, so I'll cross that bridge when I get to it. I'll be sure to keep you updated as we train.

13 weeks and counting!

Stuffed Peppers for the First Day of School

2009-10-06T00:48:00.005-05:00

Hey readers! I'm a bit behind in my blogging, but I have a few meals that I've already made and taken pictures of, so I'll be sure to get caught up soon. The first one I'm going to share is a new favorite, and I came across it on one of my favorite blogs: Cheap Healthy Good. If you're looking for some delicious, low-cal, and budget-friendly meals, check it out. The blogger is on a hiatus from writing right now, but there are plenty of recipes in the archives to keep you busy until she comes back! Also, if you're a vegetarian (or even if you're not), there was a weekly column called Veggie Might that had some awesome meat-free recipes as well.

Before we get to all that, here is another good thing: Paul has started school and classes are now in full swing.

The handsome student on his way the first day of school.

And now for that recipe:

Stuffed Peppers with Black Beans and Corn

(from CheapHealthyGood, adapted from Cooks Illustrated Best Light Recipe - a book that is now on my Christmas list)

Salt

8 bell peppers

1 cup white rice

1 tsp olive oil

1 medium onion, diced

1 medium jalapeno, minced

3 cloves garlic, minced

1 can black beans, drained and rinsed

1 can diced tomatoes, drained

1 cup frozen corn

1 cup shredded cheese (I used Mexican 4 cheese blend)

1/4 cup chopped cilantro

black pepper

Adjust oven rack to the center of the oven and preheat to 350 degrees. Bring several quarts water to a boil in a large stock pot. Cut the tops off the bell peppers, removing seeds and ribs. Place the empty bell peppers and 1 tbsp of salt in the water and cook for 3 minutes.

Remove the peppers from the water, drain, and place on paper towels. Bring water back up to a boil and add the rice, cooking for 13 minutes. Drain rice and put it in a large mixing bowl.

Meanwhile, heat the olive oil in a large nonstick pan. Add diced onion and jalapeno to the pan, cover, and cook for 8 to 10 minutes, stirring occassionally. Add the garlic and cook for another 30 seconds. Add black beans, tomatoes, and corn, and heat through. Add this mixture to the large mixing bowl and combine with the rice. Then add cheese, cilantro, and salt and pepper to taste to the mixing bowl.

Loosely and evenly stuff each each pepper. Place cut-side-up on a pan and bake for 25-30 minutes. For a little extra cheesey goodness, sprinkle a little cheese on top of the peppers for the last 5 minutes in the oven.

Each delicious and filling serving is only 320 calories. Slightly more complete nutrition facts can be found here.

Note: I halved the recipe because I only had 4 peppers. It meant I had half a can each of black beans and tomatoes leftover, but I put them in a ziplock container and used them later in the week for taco salads.

Our Kitchen and the Sweet Potato Fries I made in it

2009-09-12T14:14:00.006-05:00

We are unpacked! I’m kind of impressed with us, actually. After only 4 and a half days, every last box was unpacked (and recycled). We even have stuff hung on the walls. It’s SO nice to have everything in its place! Which brings us to the first of the pictures. Since cooking is the original focus of this blog, what better place to start than the kitchen?

It's a galley kitchen. This is the left side...

...and this is the right

1. It’s SO much bigger than my old one! I have so much cupboard space, and I actually have some counter space! In my kitchen in Chicago, I literally had one little spot of counter that wasn’t covered by the microwave or dish drying rack - it was 1 foot by 2 feet, and I had food stored in the living room closet because there wasn't enough room in the cupboards. Now, not only do I have some counter space, it’s granite!

2. Did I mention the granite? Rockin'.

3. A bottom-freezer refrigerator. We had to get a new fridge when we moved in, so we shopped around and found this affordable bottom freezer one. I love having the fridge part at eye level. Plus, when we move, we’ll get to take this with us.

4. The garbage disposal. You never know how much you use it until you don’t have it. And of course we didn’t have it in Chicago.

Last night for dinner, I even tried out a new recipe. It was super simple, practically not even worth blogging about, but it’s light and good so I’m posting it anyway. Plus, Paul loved it. I think his quote was, “we should have these every night!”

Sweet Potato Fries

1 sweet potato

cooking spray

salt

pepper

Peel the sweet potato and cut into strips or wedges. Coat a pan with cooking spray, and arrange the fries so they don't touch each other on the pan. Coat the fries with cooking spray and sprinkle with salt and pepper (I used garlic pepper). Bake at 350 degrees for 35 minutes.

They didn't turn out as crispy as I would have liked, so I'll have to work on them. I read somewhere that you should arrange them on a cooling rack on top of a pan to keep them from getting soggy, but they still just lacked a certain crunch. Any suggestions? Maybe it's because I used a yam instead of a sweet potato? (the vegetable guy at the grocery store told me there was a difference...who knew?).

I'm sure I'll get lots of chances to practice, considering how much Paul liked them. I used this recipe as a reference. (It makes a lot of fries, too. The nutrition facts call it one serving, but I had about 1/4 of the fries, and Paul had about 1/2 of them). Paired with a grilled steak and some corn on the cob, it was the perfect end of summer meal.

We have stuff!

2009-09-09T18:23:00.002-05:00

After sleeping on the floor in sleeping bags for 10 days, our boxes have finally arrived from Chicago! It’s soooo nice to finally have a bed again… and everything else, too! I’m blogging on my normal computer after using the teeny one for a month and it feels HUGE! I’m going to have to get used to typing on a normal size keyboard again!

The delivery window that the moving company had set for us was September 1 through September 7, and they squeezed in on the last day of that window. It was close though! Usually, they take their huge truck to a warehouse and load everything onto a smaller truck so they can navigate narrow city streets. This time, they skipped that step and just parked the massive 82-foot semi truck on our little cul de sac so they could get everything here on time. I’m so glad it fit!

I must say, I’m pretty impressed with the company. I’ve heard tons of horror stories about moving, but we received every single box and item back (we had created our own inventory as well). Only 2 things were damaged: a cheapo Ikea end-table has a bent leg, and our metal trash can was dented (but we popped the dent back out and now you can’t even tell). So hooray! The mover’s were gone by 10 a.m. on Monday morning, and we spent the rest of the day furiously unpacking. I did more during the day yesterday while Paul was at math camp, and when he got home, we unpacked all evening as well. No pictures of our place yet, though. Unpacking is always one of those things where the mess gets worse before it gets better.

Hopefully it will only be a couple more days. We’re getting closer!

5500 Miles - Los Angeles, CA

2009-08-31T15:55:00.002-05:00

Well, we’re finally here! We arrived on Friday afternoon, and ever since we’ve been trying to get things done. It’s hard right now because none of our stuff is here - the moving truck will arrive sometime between Tuesday the 1st and next Monday the 7th. Unfortunatley, we found out today that our stuff is STILL in Chicago, and won't be leaving Chicago until Thursday or Friday, so it's looking like it won't arrive until the end of that window (if it's even on time at all). At the moment we’re basically camping with the addition of a bathroom and a kitchen (although we still have no refrigerator. The new one we bought is being delivered on Tuesday*).

Picnic dinner on the living room floor.
We’d both been craving veggies (again, the lack of a refrigerator), so we bought just enough for dinner. Salads topped with tomato, avocado, chicken, and salsa - mmmmm! Oh yeah, and store brand diet orange soda, served in a plastic wine glass because that’s all we have.

Some things we’ve discovered we can’t get done yet. For example, we can’t go get our new driver’s licenses until our files (containing our passports and birth certificates) arrive. Other things have just been a little more difficult. It’s actually pretty hard to set up the internet without access to the internet!

Our days have been pretty boring since we landed here. We’ve made several trips to the grocery store (since we can’t keep food cold yet, we buy for about one meal at a time), a trip to UCLA to access the internet and hit the new gym, and gone several places to shop for our new refrigerator. On Saturday night we hung out with my friend Bill who lives near Hollywood. He was gracious enough to invite us over and we were able to enjoy simple things like sitting on furniture, watching TV, and using the internet. It was wonderful.

It was warm yesterday, so I tried out the pool

Obie has been doing ok. When we first arrived he was really freaked out. He was constantly nervous, and it’s clear that he doesn’t know that this is home yet. He has already calmed down a bit, though, and I think that when our things get here, having some familiar things will help him settle in, too.

Needless to say, we’re getting a bit antsy. I can’t wait to actually get settled in!
　
　
*Note: In L.A., most apartments come without refrigerators. Apparently most people own their own and take it with them when we move. Since apartments in Chicago do come with refrigerators, this was a bit of a surprise to us when we started looking for a place to live here.

4991 Miles - Grand Canyon National Park, AZ

2009-08-29T21:07:00.005-05:00

(post written on August 28)

We arrived at Grand Canyon National Park on Monday afternoon. This meant that we were able to set up our tent in daylight for the first time! Our first stop was the grocery store, which is on the National Park property. We tried to stop at a grocery store on our way in, but that drive was a whole lot of nothing for several hundred miles!

The view from the car for about 100 miles before we hit the Grand Canyon

That night we hung out around camp and heated up some beef stew for dinner. It must have smelled pretty good because a huge Elk wandered practically into our campsite. It was amazing to see such a massive animal calmly strolling by.

After that excitement, we set up a campfire and toasted some s’mores. Paul’s campfire-building efforts were much more successful this time, and we had quite an impressive fire.

Hanging out by the fire

The next morning we got up and got ready to hike. From where we were staying on the South Rim, there were trails that led both east and west along the rim. On the first day, we decided to go West, and made it our past Hopi Point, one of the many observation areas along the rim. When we arrived at the rim of the canyon for the first time, it really was amazing. It just takes your breath away.

Paul sporting his mountain-man beard

The Colorado River - the thing that is responsible for everything we see

On our way back from Hopi Point, we stopped in The Village (an area with a few restaurants, shops, and lodges about 2 miles from our campsite) to see a Navajo dance demonstration. The dancers were really talented, and it was cool to see a part of the history of the area.

After finishing our nine mile hike, we were tired and dirty. We showered and headed over to the Yavapai Café in Market Plaza to use the internet for a bit. That night we had Jambalaya (a souvenir from our stop in New Orleans) for dinner. After another fire and a few more s’mores, it was time for bed.

On Wednesday morning we were up early and ready for another hike. This time, we followed the rim trail to the East, heading all the way to Yaki Point where the trail ends. The hike along the rim was easier than our hike in Colorado because most of the path around the rim is paved, and there’s not too much change in elevation as long as you don’t drop down into the canyon. We were actually not able to hike below the rim along Bright Angel Trail even if we had wanted to because Obie was only allowed on trails above the rim.

That wasn’t a problem though. With temperatures up to 30 degrees higher than the temp at the rim and no shade, Bright Angel Trail didn’t seem all that appealing anyway. Besides, all the fantastic views are from the rim.

On this hike, we found our favorite view - a point about a quarter mile west of Yavapai Point.

After 9 more miles on that day, Obie was really tired.

Dead dog (also, a very dirty dog)

We put him in his kennel for a nap so we could go shower and get some stuff done on the internet at the Café again. When we got back, we relaxed for a little bit and played some cards before making dinner and a fire for, you guessed it, more s’mores.

I’m smiling because I’m kicking Paul’s butt at War

On Thursday, we were all set to go for another long hike, but Obie was having none of it. He let us know that his little legs were not walking another 9 miles, no way, no how.

We managed to trick him into walking about 4 miles by staying pretty much centered near our campsite - we walked a little west, then a little east before giving in to Obie and heading back to camp.

After a bit of a break that afternoon, we went back to our favorite point from the day before to watch the sunset over the Grand Canyon.

Obie got a little brave while we were waiting for the sun to set

When we got back to the campsite it was already dark, so we skipped firing up the camp stove and instead made a fire right away. For dinner, we roasted hot dogs over the fire and enjoyed our last night of vacation. We followed dinner with one last round of s’mores. It was a perfect end to our journey.

This morning, we were packed up and back on the road by 8am. This time, we’re headed home.

4418 Miles - Salt Lake City, UT

2009-08-25T19:10:00.004-05:00

We arrived at my brother’s place in Salt Lake on Friday afternoon. The first thing we did was hang out for a bit on Brando’s porch, which has a great view of the mountains. I’m still getting used to seeing mountains! After a quick run to the grocery store and Blockbuster, we came back home and Brando grilled burgers and corn on the cob for dinner. He must have been paying attention all those times that Dad grilled growing up.

As the sun started going down, we quickly finished up dinner and Brando took us over to the University of Utah (where he is currently a Junior) campus for a little tour. We started at the top of campus and wound our way down to the bottom, stopping along the way for him to point out buildings where he has taken classes, the new library, and President’s Circle. The last stop on the tour was the football stadium. From there we caught the light rail back up to the top of campus where the car was parked.

On University of Utah’s campus watching the sunset over the mountains

That night we hung out at Brando’s house and watched Thank You For Smoking, and then turned in for the night. Again, we’d had an early morning and a long drive.
The next day we got up and headed to Park City, which is about 20 minutes away from Salt Lake. Brando gets a yearly ski pass up there, and last year he went skiing 35 times. Since Park City is a little higher up in the mountains, it’s a little cooler, which was great considering temperatures in Salt Lake were close to 100 degrees!

Our first stop in Park City was the Olympic Park where the winter games were held in 2002. We got there just in time to see an awesome aerial show. This was unlike anything I’d ever seen. If you ever wondered how ski jumpers practice in the summer, this is how: the skiers ski down jumps covered in plastic and sprayed with water, do their flips and tricks in the air, and then land in a pool, skis and all. I can’t imagine trying to swim in skis, but they did it with no problem. It was really amazing to see. Plus, I enjoyed the part where we all wore shorts and sat on the grass in the sun to watch a winter sport.

The bubbles in the pool are put there to break the surface of the water so it’s a little softer when they land (this is both for the skier and their skis, which are also reinforced with fiber glass so they don't break every time the skier lands flat on the water)

After the show, we checked out the Olympic museum which featured an exhibit on the history of skiing and ski jumping in the area. There was also a huge 2002 Olympics exhibit with everything from the massive puppets used in the opening ceremonies to the gold, silver, and bronze medals awarded at the games. When we were done, we wandered around part of the park and saw some summer bobsledders. (They use wheels on the bobsleds rather than trying to maintainn ice track in the summer heat). The bobsledding is actually open to the public (for a fee of course), so if you have always wanted to try it - there’s your chance!

Our next stop was Main Street in Park City. We just walked up and down, checking out a couple stores here and there. One really cool thing about Park City is that there is a ski run from one of the resorts that ends in town. So you can ski down, grab a bite to eat in one of the restaurants, and then catch the ski lift back to the top. Brando pointed out his favorite place to grab a snack with his buddies, and we stopped there and had some fries.

Random moose outside one of the stores on Main Street

For dinner that night, we went back to Salt Lake City and met up with Brando’s former roommate Kevin at a great restaurant called Trio. We sat outside on the patio and enjoyed the outdoor misters and some great pasta and flatbread. After dinner we went back to Brando’s house and just hung out and watched TV for the rest of the night.

Sunday was a pretty typical lazy day. We found a dog park in Salt Lake and took Obie there to run off some energy. We also did some school supply shopping for Brando and Paul. Brando also bought a dryer for his house on Craig’s List (before this, they just had the washer). The best part was, he found the dryer for only 25 bucks! It had the wrong plug on it (4-prong instead of 3-prong), but after a quick trip to Home Depot, the boys had it switched and up and running. The best part was, it works great! That afternoon, we hung around the house. We did some laundry, ordered pizza for dinner, and did some work. Paul had studying to do, and Brando was editing video for his on-campus job. I simply enjoyed my book. That night we all headed to bed at a decent hour.

The next morning was Brando’s first day of classes, so we got up and out of there pretty early in the morning. We were packed up and on the road again by 8, on our way to the Grand Canyon!

(Note: you may have noticed that we decided to skip the Zion National Park stop on our trip. We found out that dogs are not allowed on the hiking trails there. We didn't know what we would do there for 3 days if hiking was not an option, so we decided to go straight to the Grand Canyon from Salt Lake City. We thought about hitting Vegas for a few days to finish up the trip, but again couldn't find a hotel on the strip that would take Obie. He messes everything up! Instead, we're just going to roll into L.A. a few days early and start getting things in order.)

3898 Miles - Estes Park, CO

2009-08-22T18:46:00.005-05:00

(This post was written on August 21)

In Austin, we decided to skip the stop in Amarillo and just continue on all the way to Estes Park, Colorado without stopping. Our plan was to drive until we could drive no more, crash for a few hours in a rest area, and then finish the drive the next morning. Fortunately, we made better time than we thought we would, so we called the camp site in Estes Park and extended our reservation by one night. It was our longest drive yet (16 hours), but we made it!

Along the way, we saw a lot of farms (and not much else). We even saw a huge wind farm.

We also had some rain along the way, but were treated to a double rainbow afterward.

Can you see the faint second rainbow in the upper right hand corner?

We finally arrived at our campsite around midnight on Tuesday. Fun fact: we have yet to set up our tent in the daytime. Fortunately, we’ve gotten really good at setting it up quickly and quietly with the help of flashlights.

When we woke up the next morning, we were treated to a fantastic view:

Obie looking regal at our campsite.

That morning, we went for a run and then met up and walked into quaint little downtown Estes Park. They had a bunch of cute little touristy shops, and the prevalence of fudge reminded us of Mackinac Island. After the walk back, we hung out around the campsite for most of the day. I read a bit we both napped (Obie took two naps), and Paul went fishing. He even caught us a big rainbow trout for dinner.

Paul cooking his trout later that night for dinner.

After dinner, we cleaned up the campsite and watched the sunset over the mountains.

We played some cards, and then tucked in for an early night. There was one big difference from our other camping experiences: at night, it was COLD. Were talking sleeping in long sleeve shirts and sweatshirts, snuggled in our sleeping bags. It was so cold that we didn’t want to leave Obie in his kennel to shiver without a blanket, so each night he got to snuggle with Paul in his sleeping bag. He started out near the top, but always spent most of the night burrowed down near Paul’s feet.

The next morning we got up and had some breakfast. We checked at the local visitor’s center and found out that dogs were not allowed on the trails in Rocky Mountain National Park. However, they are allowed on the trails at Roosevelt National Forest, so we headed over there and found the Lion's Gulch Trailhead. The trail was about 6 miles total. It started at an elevation of 7325 feet, and took us up a mountain 1300 feet!

The trail was mostly wooded and rocky, but at the top it opened up to a meadow, where hikers could see the remains of several homesteads.

Paul with part of the Walker Homestead

Looking back along the trail from the top - 3 miles back down!

Obie was a trooper and held up really well along the trail. He even got brave and walked across a few log bridges rather than splashing through the stream. Afterwards, though, he was completely tuckered out.

That afternoon, we hung out around the campground and made dinner (always a project when you’re camping) before hitting the hay early again.

This morning, we were up by 6:15 and packing everything up again. We enjoyed a scenic drive out to the highway, and then we were on our way.

Now, we’re in Wyoming. When my brother moved out to school in Salt Lake City, he bemoaned the drive through Wyoming, and I now understand why. There’s a whole lot of nothing out here. And Garmin just told us to continue on 1-80 West for the next 430 miles! Next stop: Salt Lake City, UT to visit Brando!

2895 Miles - Round Rock, TX

2009-08-19T17:17:00.005-05:00

We arrived at Joe’s apartment in Round Rock (just outside Austin) pretty early in the afternoon on Friday. Kyle greeted us, but Joe was not yet home from work, so we all threw on swimsuits and went out to the pool to wait for him. Not a bad way to begin our visit!

That night, we all got cleaned up and headed out to one of Joe and Kyle’s favorite restaurants. Oasis is a four-story, mostly outdoor restaurant that faces Lake Travis. It was formerly a private home that was converted to the restaurant, and the view is absolutely stunning as the sun sets over the lake.

The night was cool (and by cool, I mean still in the 80s! But considering it was near 100 degrees during the day, that was cool), so we sat outside and enjoyed dinner and took in the view. Oasis also makes some great margaritas.

After dinner, we walked by a bunch of cool (random, but cool) sculptures on the way to the car. Paul particularly liked the one shaped like UFO.

On Saturday, we woke up and went to the gym in Kyle and Joe’s complex, and then put our bathing suits back on and headed to Schlitterbahn! Schlitterbahn is a huge water park in Texas. We spent the whole day there floating in the lazy river and the action river (same concept as the lazy river, but with big waves), hanging out in the giant hot tub (with swim-up bar!) and riding the slides. The best ride was definitely Dragon’s Revenge, their new water coaster. Sadly, we do not have any pictures from this day. Water and the camera do not mix. It was a perfect day, though - lots of sun! And we spent the WHOLE day in the park soaking up every bit of it!

By the time we got home it was getting later in the evening, but we got cleaned up and headed out on the town anyway. First stop was the Hula Hut for a late dinner. By that point, we were starving. Unfortunately, our waiter was not the best - the service was almost comically bad. We finally got fed, and the experience actually provided comic relief for the rest of the night.

After the Hula Hut, we went over to 5th Street - a stretch of really cool bars in downtown Austin. We ended up on the HUGE rooftop deck at a place called Maggie Mae’s. There, we enjoyed a few drinks and had a great time people-watching.

On Sunday morning, we all slept in a bit (except Joe - he had to go into work for a while. Yuck!). When he got back, Kyle and I left to do a little shopping at the outlet malls and a fantastic outdoor mall called The Domain. While we shopped ‘til we dropped, the boys were busy at home playing vintage video games. Who needs state of the art graphics when you’ve got Wolfenstein?

That night for dinner we went to a local brewpub called North X Northwest. Not only did they have some fantastic microbrews, they also had great food, a nice relaxed atmosphere, and way better service than the night before! We lingered over dinner and conversation before heading back to Kyle and Joe’s. There, the boys resumed conquering Wolfenstein, while Kyle and I grabbed some wine and went to sit with our feet in the pool and chat. It’s amazing how easily it can seem just like we’re back in high school (though of course, we never had wine or a pool then. Just a gazebo).

We’d planned on heading out of Austin on Monday morning, but our plans between Austin and Salt Lake were still a little vague at that point. Instead, we decided to stay one more day with Kyle and Joe in Texas.

Monday was a relaxing day, but also productive. In the morning, we went to Lifetime Fitness with Kyle. They have amazing facilities and it was really nice to get a long workout in there. After that, Paul took Obie downtown to find a dog park. He never found it, but they did get a nice long walk in, so the end result was the same: a tired pup. Kyle and I hit the pool again, this time with books in tow. I’m going to be tan by the time this trip is over! Meanwhile, we were doing laundry back at the apartment. That night, we re-packed our suitcases (they can get messy with all this traveling!) and packed almost everything back into the car so we were ready to hit the road the next morning. We were treated to a home cooked meal of bison burgers, corn, and tater tots, and then we all turned in early.

The next morning, Paul and I were up by 6:30 and at the gym shortly afterwards. After some quick showers, we finished up packing the car, and we were back on the road for our longest drive yet!

2339 Miles - New Orleans, LA (part 3)

2009-08-17T00:21:00.004-05:00

(Post written August 14)

Thursday morning we got up pretty early, which was tough after a night out on Bourbon Street! It was worth it, though.

Our first activity of the day took us to the New Orleans School of Cooking for a Creole cooking class! Of all the things we did in New Orleans, this was probably my favorite. It was a demonstration class, so we got to sit back and relax while we watched our chef Barbara make authentic Creole dishes. Our class included Crab and Corn Bisque, Shrimp Creole, Pina Colada Bread Pudding, and Pralines. We got copies of the recipes to take home, and I took copious notes. Maybe at some point on this blog you’ll see a shrimp or chicken Creole! My first attempts at a roux should certainly be interesting. Also, there’s no way any of these recipes will qualify as healthy. Between the 4 dishes, Chef Barbara used about 10 sticks of butter! Not to mention the cream and whole milk in the bisque, the whole milk in the pralines… you get the idea. It’s no wonder that I gained probably 5 lbs on this short visit! (That and the fact that we also missed workouts on all three days…oops).

Chef Barbara pours pralines onto parchment paper, while a volunteer from the class helps stir the bisque

Throughout the four hour class, Barbara also shared some history of cooking in the area and how it has been affected by the many cultures that come together there. And at the end of the class we got to enjoy all the food! We were also treated to some beer and root beer from Abita, a local brewery.

We left the class absolutely stuffed (and in need of some detox after all that butter!). We walked around some more (because that’s what we do) and then stopped in at the Cabildo, one of the State Museums of New Orleans. They were previewing part of an exhibit on Hurricane Katrina, so they had us check it out and then give our opinions on what was good and what needed to be improved. Being the nerdy museum-lovers that we are, we actually felt pretty qualified to offer our advice. It was interesting to be involved in the process.

After that, we went over to the Presbytere - another State Museum of New Orleans. The two museums are located on either side of the St Louis Cathedral, so we didn’t have far to go. The Presbytere featured exhibits on Mardi Gras and the Zulu organization. Zulu is a primarily African American community organization that has it’s own impressive Mardi Gras parade each year. It first gained national attention when Louis Armstrong served as king of the parade in 1949.

The most impressive thing about the exhibit was all the beautiful costumes on display. These things are absolutely huge and decked out in ways you could never even imagine with feathers and sparkles everywhere.

A Zulu costume worn by the character Big Shot - a man who tries to show up the king each year with a more impressive costume.

A Zulu Ambassador costume. This costume is really reminiscent of the early days of Zulu, when the characters dressed in grass skirts and blackface.

Another Mardi Gras costume in the traditional colors of purple, green, and gold.

After the museum, we headed back over to Café Du Monde for an afternoon snack: more beignets! They were really so delicious.

We toured the French Quarter some more and took a little afternoon break (we’re still trying to figure out what we’re doing after our stop in Austin, and we still haven’t made any firm plans!) and then changed for dinner.

On a recommendation from the front desk, we walked over to Acme Oyster House. For an appetizer, we decided we had to at least try some raw oysters.

I was a bit skeptical

I tried one, but I thought they were kind of gross, so Paul finished off the rest of the half dozen. On the wall, they had the names of people that had eaten more than 15 dozen (in an hour I believe). The record? 42 ½ dozen raw oysters. Ew! For dinner, we stuck with some more tame selections - more jambalaya for me, and a crawfish etouffee for Paul.

After dinner we headed back towards Bourbon Street and got into Preservation Hall for some authentic New Orleans jazz. Preservation Hall is a unique place. It’s basically just a room into which they shove a band and about 75 people.. There are a few benches and chairs in front, but most of the place is standing room only. The place looks like it hasn’t been touched in a hundred years - plaster is falling off the cement walls, and there is of course no air conditioning, just a few ceiling fans, so it was hot.

I tell you what, though, it was pretty cool. The band was a group called the Paulin Brothers Brass Band. It consisted of 7 members (4 of which were Paulin brothers): trombone, clarinet, alto sax, tuba, bass drum, and snare drum. The leader of the band was one of the Paulin brothers, and in between songs he talked about growing up with 9 brothers and 3 sisters. Their mother was there, sitting in the front row. After the first set, we were able to nab some seats up front. Actually, they were really on the side, right next to the band. I could have reached out and touched the snare drum or trombone player. One of the Paulin sisters was sitting right next to me.

The view from our seats. This was in between sets, but those empty chairs in front of us is where the band sat.

After about two hours of fantastic jazz, we decided it was time to hit the hay. This morning, we were up early and packing again. We considered one more stop at Café Du Monde on our way out of town, but decided to just get on the road instead. By 7:30, we’d picked up Obie from his doggy hotel and we were on our way to Austin, TX!

2339 Miles - New Orleans, LA (part 2)

2009-08-15T20:09:00.008-05:00

On Wednesday we got up ready to do some sightseeing! The first stop was St. Louis Cathedral, which we’d seen the day before right on the edge of Jackson Square.

St. Louis Cathedral behind a statue of Andrew Jackson, with the storm rolling in in the background. (picture taken on Tuesday)

We did a bit of a self-guided tour with the help of the brochure, and then sat down in a pew for some lessons from a volunteer tour guide. The cathedral is named after the French King Saint Louis IX. The beautiful stained glass windows along both sides of the church depict his life, and all ornate paintings and frescos inside are just gorgeous.

After that tour, we grabbed some more Po’ Boys at Court of Two Sisters for lunch. We scarfed those down (they were, in my opinion, actually better than the ones we’d had the previous night at Mother’s) and then headed over to the Garden District for another tour. This one started in one of the city’s many cemeteries with its famous above-ground burials.

Our tour guide Liz showed us this unused open tomb to explain how so many people can be buried in a single tomb. First, obviously, the two slots are occupied. When a third person passes away, the bones from the longer deceased person are gathered and deposited in the small cave-like space beneath the lower tomb. Their casket is discarded, and the newly deceased is inserted in their place. Some of these tombs have 10, 15, even 20 people inside!

After that, we began walking around the surrounding neighborhood. Since this area of town is some of the highest land in the city (at a whopping 12 feet above sea level), these houses were battered by Katrina, but not flooded and destroyed in ways that other parts of the city were. The walking tour was a great mix of history, funny anecdotes, and architecture styles, with a few celebrity homes tossed in as well.

We saw this ornate ironwork on many of the houses we passed

The house where Peyton and Eli Manning grew up. We also saw John Goodman’s home.

Some of the houses were massive. Very impressive.

After the tour we were a bit hungry, so we headed back to the French Quarter and over to Café Du Monde for Beignets and frozen Café au Lait. This was my first experience with the French, powdered-sugar-covered doughnuts, and wow, were they delicious!

Mmmmm!

We needed to walk off some of the doughnuts, so we did more wandering after that. And, what do you know, we stumbled upon something else cool! Down Pirate’s Alley (which is not even a street, just, as it says, and alley), we found William Faulkner’s home.

Even though I’m not a fan of William Faulkner at all - the one book of his that I have read was awful - I can’t miss a photo opportunity! Besides, I love nerdy historical stuff like that.

After a little more wandering, we headed back to the hotel to chill for a bit and change for dinner.
For some more true Louisiana food, we headed to the Gumbo Shop. You can’t go to a place called the Gumbo Shop and not order gumbo, so we tried the chicken and andouille sausage variety, as well as an order of jambalaya, and split both. I would definitely recommend this place to others.

After that it was back out on Bourbon Street, which is always interesting. There are definitely some characters down there!

One more post on New Orleans, coming right up!

2339 Miles - New Orleans, LA (part 1)

2009-08-14T22:25:00.003-05:00

We only spent a few days in NOLA, but we squeezed so much in, I’m going to have to split it into three posts to get it all in!

We arrived in New Orleans around noon on Tuesday the 11th and dropped Obie off at the kennel. We got a little break from him this week, and he gets to play with other dogs all day! What more could a pup want? Then we headed to our hotel. Since we were still gross from our sweltering stay in Panama City, the first order of business was to clean up. After that, we set out in search of food.

Even though it was only 4 o‘clock - way too early for dinner - we headed to Mother’s for some dressed Po’ Boys. They were our first taste of some New Orleans food, and they definitely hit the spot, even though they were super messy!

Yummy!

After our early dinner, we wandered along the River Walk for a bit before hightailing it back towards the hotel to avoid the approaching storm. Along the way we stumbled upon Jackson square. We did a lot of that this week: just wandered around and came upon all sorts of cool stuff.

After the rain stopped, we ventured back out and onto Bourbon Street. We caught some live music and some drinks at a few different places, but turned in pretty early. Remember that we were up for the sunrise that morning!

So our first evening in New Orleans concluded at the tame hour of 11 o’clock, but we sure made up for it the next day!

1996 Miles - Panama City, FL

2009-08-11T14:28:00.002-05:00

Panama City was just a short stop for us - we pulled in around 8pm, and we were back on the road by 8am this morning. We stayed at St. Andrews State Park, and our campsite was fantastic. It was right on the water!

The view from our tent

We may have had a cool view, but it was HOT! Damn hot! We pretty much just sweated the whole time we were in Panama City. This morning, we didn’t even bother to shower before we left because we knew it was pointless - we’d just start sweating again. Instead, we just got on the road.

We were up by 6am and it was already hot (or still hot, depending on how you look at it). We watched the sunrise while eating breakfast, and then packed up the tent. I’d love to camp in Panama City for longer, but next time I’ll come in January. Next stop, New Orleans (where we get to stay in a hotel! Woohoo!).

Sunrise over the Gulf

Me, making breakfast, and sticky from a combination of sweat and bug spray. Gross.

1585 miles - Clearwater, FL

2009-08-11T14:08:00.005-05:00

(This post was written on August 10)

On Friday August 7th we arrived at Joe and Julie’s in Clearwater, Florida. They have a fantastic apartment that they just moved into about a month ago. By the time we arrived, dinner was almost ready - Julie made her Grandma’s amazing chicken parmesan - and we sat down to eat. That night we relaxed, visited, and played Apples to Apples and Disney Scene It (in preparation for the next day). Obie and Dodger (Joe and Julie’s 8 lb shitzu-yorkie mix) got to know each other, even though Dodger wasn’t the biggest fan of his visitor.

The next morning we woke up early and skipped the gym. Joe made scrambled eggs and bacon, and then we hit the road for the short trip to Disney World! Joe and Julie were the perfect hosts in the park. The day started with fun facts about Cinderella’s Castle, and throughout the day they showed us the best places to eat in the park, the best rides, and how to navigate the park in general. We rode pretty much every ride and never waited in line for more than an hour. We actually navigated the park at a pretty relaxed pace. It was a really fun experience!

Paul and Julie faced off after the Pirates of the Caribbean

Before Mickey’s PhilharMagic - one of our favorite shows of the day

We stayed in the park late so we could catch the SpectroMagic Parade and the fireworks, and both were really amazing. For the parade, Julie braved stroller-wielding guests and staked out a prime spot on Main Street so we had front row seats. We squeezed in one more ride after that - the Jungle Cruise. It ran a little slow due to a breakdown, but we hurried across the park and made it just in time to see the fireworks over Cinderella’s Castle. It was really cool how they were synchronized with the music. It was a perfect end to the night.

Hanging out before the parade

As soon as we reached the car, Paul fell asleep like a tuckered-out kid, and we were home that night by 12:30. We all showered and grabbed a snack, and then headed off to bed!

The next day we just relaxed. We slept in in the morning, checked out Joe and Julie’s gym (which we are very jealous of!), and then lounged around in front of a movie and paddled around in the pool for a bit.

That night, we all got cleaned up and headed to downtown St. Pete for dinner at a Tapas Restaurant with my Aunt Sarah and Uncle Mark. All the food was amazing - especially the desserts! After dinner we walked down to a Welsh bar called the Moon Under Water for a few drinks. When we got back to Julie and Joe’s, we settled in and watched Good Luck Chuck.

This morning, we hit the gym one more time and then packed up the car - we’re getting pretty good at it! We hit the road once again. Next up: a one night stopover in St. Andrew’s State Park (Panama City, FL) and then on to New Orleans!

1202 - Bluffton, SC

2009-08-09T09:07:00.004-05:00

Hilton Head, please!

After a quick three and a half hours on the road, we arrived in Hilton Head, SC (well technically Bluffton, SC, but close enough). The last part of the drive was a bit hazardous as we weathered a huge summer thunder storm, including driving half off the road to get around a downed tree. We also got to once again benefit from Garmin’s logic in calculating the “fastest” route. This time it took us down a two lane winding highway that ran nearly parallel to the freeway. This scenic route included such highlights as the aforementioned downed tree in the road and a billboard containing only a confederate flag and the phrase “Never Forget.” Needless to say, we didn’t stop.

After making our way to some more civilized country, we quickly stopped at a grocery store and a Supercuts to get Paul a much needed haircut, and then to Grandmothers house we went.

Upon arrival, we unpacked the car and had an awesome home cooked meal. Then we took a tour of Grandma’s neighborhood. She lives in a beautiful retirement community, with every amenity you can imagine. They of course have multiple pools, workout facilities and tennis courts, but they also have multiple golf courses, bocce ball, a dog park and even a woodworking shop. Grandma is a member of the choir there, and they have a club or group for everything you can think of. I want to live there!

After our tour (and some exercise for Obie at the dog park), we enjoyed a relaxed evening, including good wine/beer, great conversation, and a much needed early bed time.

Paul and I started the next day with a quick trip to the gym, and then it was off Hilton Head Island. Paul had never been to the island, and wasn’t sure that he had even been in the Atlantic Ocean, so we started the visit with a quick trip to the beach to remedy that. We had to dip our toes in the Atlantic before we head off to the Pacific!

Then it was off to do some shopping. We wandered through the touristy shops at Coligny Plaza, and Grandma and I each found a new pair of sunglasses. While we were there we grabbed lunch at a place called Skillets. We of course had to have fish since we were so close to the ocean. When we were done on the island, we headed back to Grandma’s, and that afternoon spent some time relaxing at the pool. I read Julie and Julia, Paul read statistics, and we both got a little tan.

Mmmmm, statistics

That night Grandma took us out to the British Open Pub, a restaurant that's in her gated community. She showed us the plaque bearing her name from when she won the President’s Cup golf tournament in 1997, and we enjoyed some great food.The next morning we hit the pavement for another run, and then packed up the car and hit the road on our way to Florida.

P.S.

2009-08-06T22:38:00.002-05:00

Yep. Changed the template of my blog again. I was never quite happy with the old one. Plus, this one is a little less girly (since this blog is no longer just about me) and I love the clean lines. This is what I was looking for all along! Now I've got to rest up and charge the computer before our drive to Tampa tomorrow!

886 Miles - Charlotte, NC

2009-08-06T22:05:00.004-05:00

We arrived in Charlotte around 5pm on August 3rd. After unloading a bunch of our stuff and letting Obie sniff at the new place, we were able to sit down and relax for a little bit. That was pretty much how the rest of our stay in NC was - just plain relaxing. We didn’t have to plan anything or cook or set up a tent. Camping was fun, but this was a great change from Corbin!

That night we went out to dinner at the Lodge, which is about halfway between Nana’s place and Aunt Lynn and Uncle Greg’s house. It was great - casual, with good food (yummy tater tots), friendly wait staff, and an extensive beer list. After dinner, we hung out at Nana’s place and watched an episode of The Closer guest starring Nana’s cousin - Tom Skerritt.

The next morning we went for a run (and almost died - it’s soooo hot and humid there!) and then met Lynn for breakfast at the pancake house. Next, we headed to Uptown to visit the Museum of the New South. Paul and I are nerdy, so we like museums, and it was really interesting to learn the history of the area. I thought it was especially interesting because, growing up in Michigan, our history lessons usually focused on what was happening in the northern part of the United States. It was great to learn a little more about another part of the country.

After that, we all met my cousin Matt at the US National Whitewater Center. I’d never even heard of something like this place. It’s like an extreme outdoor sports park. They have manmade whitewater rapids for kayakers and rafters, a huge zipline, Eco Caching, and tons of trails for mountain bikers, to name a few of the activities. We didn’t actually participate in any of the activities - it was pretty hot and we didn’t have swimsuits. Instead, we sat under an umbrella, shared a snack at the cafe, and watched the rafters wipe out on the rapids and the zip-liners fly by overhead. We found out later that Nana really wants to try out the zipline. Had we known, we definitely would have gone with her!

Dinner that night was right by the Lodge where we had had dinner the previous night, at a Mexican restaurant called Maria Bonita. The food was really good (Paul and I have a weakness for Mexican food), and because it was a Tuesday night, we had the restaurant pretty much to ourselves. Besides, you can’t go wrong with a good margarita.

After dinner we went back to Lynn and Greg’s house for some blueberry pie that Lynn had made for dessert. I was impressed. I've never even tried to make a pie, but if I did, it wouldn't turn out as good as this one.

The next morning, we braved the heat and humidity for another run before we met Matt at Sweet T’s Diner for breakfast. After breakfast, he headed back to Raleigh and we went back to Nana’s to pack all our stuff (once again) into the little blue car.

We were on the road again!

561 Miles - Corbin, KY

2009-08-04T21:20:00.012-05:00

(This post was written on August 3rd)

We arrived at the KOA campsite in Corbin, KY late - around 11:45 local time. We set up the tent in the dark (with the help of the car’s headlights) and finally got to bed around 1:30.

The next morning, we slept in a bit, and when we woke up it was turning out to be a beautiful day (even though the weatherman had said it would rain). The morning, however, was kind of a comedy of errors. We went for a run, and then got ready to go hiking at the Natural Arch, a local landmark in Daniel Boone National Forest. While Paul was helping coat me in bug spray, I got some in my eye, so I went to the bathroom to wash it out. As I was leaving the bathroom, klutzy me missed a step and took a spill on the gravel driveway. I skinned my knee and the heels of both hands pretty badly. Fortunately, the owner of the KOA was right there with a first aid kit. Between her and Paul, they got me patched up in no time. Even though he says he’s going to be the “kind of doctor that doesn’t help anyone” when he’s a PhD, he certainly knows his way around a first aid kit!

After I got bandaged up, we headed off for the Natural Arch. It was a bit of a drive - about 45 min through some pretty curvy, hilly roads. When we finally reached the Natural Arch trailhead, it was closed! A spray-painted sign told us there were men working.

Yes, I do have a Cookie Monster bandaid on my right hand.

We had seen a few signs for other attractions along the road, so we decided to keep driving and see what we came to. Our first stop was at Dry Creek Overlook. We pulled off the road and hung out there for a little bit while we ate our lunch. A couple from Tennessee had also stopped there and was nice enough to take our picture.

As we drove, we were really in the middle of no where. For awhile, Garmin showed NOTHING - not even the road we were on!

The road we were on went for about 9 miles - twisty the whole way - and then, it just… ended. In the river. We stopped and got out to check out the view.

At that point, we got back in the car and turned around. That was really our only option, after all. On our way back, we stopped by Cumberland Falls - “The Niagra of the South.”

Cumberland Falls is actually pretty unique - it’s one of only two waterfalls that form Moonbows in the entire world (the other is Victoria Falls in Africa). A moon bow is like a rainbow, but it’s seen at night, once a month during the full moon.

Obie had to check out the view.

After that we headed back to camp for a shower and dinner.

Our tent is pretty big, and when we set it up it almost seemed a little bit like overkill, but as you can see, with two of us and a dog, it’s just about perfect.

The vestibule is huge, but we use that to dry our wet towels (hung over campstools) and store our shoes.

For dinner, Paul fired up the camp stove and we enjoyed delicious grilled chicken, sweet turkey sausage, and some fresh strawberries that we picked up at the local Super Walmart

Dessert, of course, was s’mores. Paul, despite all his Eagle Scout skills, had a little trouble getting a fire started. He had some great excuses like, “wet wood,” and “it’s a great s’mores cooking fire,and even, “it’s an appropriately sized fire for two people,” but when I threatened public defamation on this blog, he managed to get it going into a respectable fire after all. And, he was right, the s’mores were great.

This morning, we got up, made some oatmeal, and broke down our camp site. After we grabbed some showers, we headed out on the road. Before we could leave Corbin, though, we had to make one more stop. Corbin is a pretty happenin’ town, but the thing they are best known for is the fact that they are the birthplace of KFC. We could not miss out on the Colonel Harland Sanders Museum and Café. We checked out the Colonel, read up on the history, and even grabbed some of the Original Recipe to complete the experience.

Now we’re back on the road, driving through Tennessee. Next stop - Charlotte, NC!

And we're off!

2009-08-02T09:22:00.001-05:00

We are officially on the road! The movers came yesterday and took all of our stuff, and our apartment is now completely empty.

The move was not completely smooth (no move ever is). Like good tenants, we’d patched the few holes we’d made in the walls. However, when we went to paint over the holes, the paint bucket that our landlord said was the wall paint turned out to be the trim paint instead. Verrrry different colors of white. After calling the landlord back, we found that we did not have access to the wall paint after all, so we were on our own. The closest color match we found at Home Depot wasn’t quite right either, so in the end, we ended up having to frantically re-paint several whole walls in our apartment. Fortunately, our good friend Alex came right over to help us with a paint roller, and it was finished in no time.

Despite that little bit of chaos, we were able to go out with a few friends last night and enjoy some of our favorite Chicago bars. It was fantastic to get a chance to hang out one last time as Chicagoans. We’re really lucky to have such great friends, and we’re going to miss them so much.
Now, we’ve got the car loaded up and we’re on our way. Oh yeah, did I mention that we are making this whole trek in a Honda Fit? If you don’t know what that is - it’s teeny tiny. Great for parallel parking in small Chicago parking spots. Actually, though, it’s pretty great for this kind of trip, too. It’s not huge, but it holds a lot of stuff for its size. We can even see out the back window! Obie is nice and cozy in his fort (a pop-up kennel, with our pillows stored on top). The little monster was fortunately at doggy daycare (and night-care) from before the movers arrived until we left for the trip today, which benefits us in two ways: we were able to de-dog-hair-ify the apartment, and he is now exhausted from all the doggy play time. Since we picked him up, he has been snoozing happily in his fort, and hasn’t made a peep.

Right now, we’re just driving along, settling into our new home and unwinding from the past couple days. Sometime tonight we will arrive in Corbin, KY, and we’ll update more from there!

On your mark, get set...

2009-07-30T13:59:00.007-05:00

Hello, blog readers. I know I have been gone for a very long time. But, I have some exciting news - I've been really busy because I've been preparing to move to Los Angeles!

Paul and I have been packing up all our worldly possessions, and tomorrow morning we will be loading them onto a moving truck (well, the movers will actually be doing the loading part). We were both born and raised in the midwest, and it's the only place we've ever lived. We grew up in Michigan, Paul stayed in Michigan for college while I headed to Milwaukee, and in our post-college years we've landed in Chicago.

While it will certainly be a lot different, we're really looking forward to the adventure! In L.A. we'll both be able to pursue our career goals, something we think is very important to living our best lives. I'll finally be able to put my broadcasting degree to work in The Industry, and Paul will be pursuing more scholarly goals as he starts working towards his PhD in business at UCLA.

Though we will miss our family and friends SO much, we knew that this was our best chance to pursue these goals, and that in today's world they are only a short call -- or video chat -- or plane ride -- away. We're also really excited to try something new and totally out of our comfort zone. Among other things, I'm excited to have more access to fresh and organic ingredients, which you will definitely see reflected in this blog as we get settled on the west coast. When we visited earlier this month to look for an apartment, I was surprised at how much more health-concious they are in L.A. I think it will be good for me. Oh yeah, and did I mention palm trees? I love palm trees. And I dislike snow. I'm really looking forward to not having to wear snow boots next January!

Anyway, for the time being, the purpose of this blog is going to change a bit. We will return to our regularly scheduled programming, as I mentioned above, probably some time in September. Until then, it will be more of a travel blog. On the way to L.A. Paul and I decided it would be fun to take a bit of a summer vacation. How often do you get that as an adult? (Well, Paul will get that every year since he's going to be a student for the next five years and a professor after that, but how often do I get that?). So we're both taking the month of August off and roadtripping across the country on our way to L.A. Our stuff will meet us there in the first week of September.

Our more than 5,000 mile trip actually begins with us heading east. Down through Kentucky, and then over to Charlotte, NC. After that we're heading south for a bit and hitting Hilton Head, SC and Tampa, FL. We'll head north out of Florida and west through Panama City, FL, New Orleans, LA, and Austin, TX. Then it's north through Amarillo, TX and Denver, CO on our way to Salt Lake City, UT. Finally, we'll drive southwest through Zion National Park, UT and the Grand Canyon (AZ) before arriving in L.A. The whole zig-zaggy trip will look like this.

Along the way, we'll be blogging about our trip on a teeny tiny computer (only 9 inches wide!) on loan from Paul's parents, and posting when we have internet access. Future posts will include many more pictures, but for today, you'll have to survive with just one:

This is what our bedroom looks like right now. And this isn't even all the boxes! I'll be so glad when the movers haul all these down 4 flights of stairs for me tomorrow. Now, I've got to get back to packing and cleaning!

Happy Anniversary, Hubby!

2009-06-08T22:15:00.003-05:00

Yesterday Hubby and I celebrated our first fantastic year of marriage. Here's to many more!

Happy then, happy now!

Our first year has been wonderful, and I'm sure we'll have many adventures in the next year!

To celebrate this event, we decided to do something a little different than just going out to a fancy dinner. For awhile now, we've been wanting to try a cooking class at The Chopping Block, a little place near us here in Chicago. Since the classes can be a little expensive, we saved it for a special occassion, and this fit the bill perfectly!

The class itself was wonderful. The class only had 10 other students, and we were set up 4 people to a table. We originally planned on doing a Healthy Cooking class, but that one wasn't offered this month, so we ended up signing up for Taqueria DIY, which was perfect since we love Mexican food. The menu included:

Lime Margaritas

Pico de Gallo

Salsa Verde

Achiote-Marinated Grilled Fish Tacos

Tacos de Carne Asada

Pastel de Tres Leches

We were really surprised to find out that everything we made, except the Pastel de Tres Leches (6 eggs in that cake! And real whipped cream on top!) was pretty healthy, too. The best part: after all our hard work, we got to sit down to a lovely table and enjoy!! It was really a fantastic way to celebrate together and learn something new (and of course, eat some great food).

New Look

2009-06-02T22:48:00.002-05:00

Hey readers. You're not crazy - I changed the look of my blog! I needed something new and fresh for summer, and I love the bright colors in this one. I'm still looking around, so don't be surprised if it changes again! Thanks for your patience while I fiddle with this. In the mean time, I'll still be posting as usual.

Love,
Allie

Oh yeah, that other white meat

2009-06-02T21:01:00.007-05:00

As you may have noticed, we don't eat a lot of red meat in our house. We pretty much stick to chicken, turkey, and sometimes fish for most of the protein in our diet. Don't get me wrong, I don't have anything against the occassional steak. It's just that steak can be expensive, and as newlyweds just starting out, we try to be as budget conscious as possible. Besides, we don't have a proper grill (our apartment has no outdoor space... unless you count the fire escape), and as much as I love my George (Foreman, that is), it's just not the same.

However, as much as we try to mix it up, chicken and ground turkey night after night get bor-ring. So tonight, we went with something new: pork tenderloin. "Woah," you might be thinking, "Pork tenderloin?? Don't get too crazy, now!" (insert heavy sarcasm). Well, dear readers, for us, that is pretty out of the box. In fact, this is the first time I have ever made pork. Ever. Talk about a rut.

Paired with smashed red skins, it was a meat and potatoes kind of night

Now, no one can grill quite like my dad. He is a master. So I borrowed my Mom's recipe, and tried to immitate his skills. I didn't quite achieve it perfectly - the pork was just a teensy bit well done - but hey, I'll just have to practice! The marinade, however, totally made up for it. It was tangy with just a little bit of spice, and if I can nail the juiciness factor next time, it will positively make you drool. Here's the recipe, straight from my Mom's kitchen:

Grilled Pork Tenderloin

2 (3/4-1 lb) pork tenderloins
1/2 C oil
1/3 C soy sauce
1/4 C red wine vinegar
3 tbsp lemon juice
1 1/2 tsp pepper
2 tbsp worcestershire sauce
1 clove garlic
1 tbsp chopped parsley
1 tbsp dry mustard

Combine in a ziplock bag. Seal, and chill at least 4 hours turning occassionally. Remove from marinade. Grill for 12-14 min.

For the sparkers out there: I'm never quite sure how to calculate the calories in marinades, since most of the bad stuff gets thown away. You're on your own for this one. If you have a method for this madness, let me know! Still, pork is very lean - only about 150 calories for 3 oz! The red skin potatoes are about 100 calories per potato. Bonus: we have plenty of leftovers, which I plan on making into delicious lunches (more on that later!).

Product Review: Something for your Grill

2009-05-20T22:11:00.005-05:00

*Dear blog world, I've missed you! Sorry I've been gone for so long. I've been busy with work/too lazy to try new recipes, thus the lack of posts. But now I'm back! Unfortunately, not with any new recipes....

Oh Summer, how I missed you! I missed sunshine. I missed flip flops. I missed barbeques!

A few days ago, we had a perfect late spring/early summer day (very unlike the chilly, gloomy day we had today, but we'll ignore that fact for now). It was the kind of day where you can be sassy at work in nice capris and cute heels (oh, I rocked those cute heels). For dinner, I was craving something grilled. In my world that means two things: light and easy.

Hubby and I have been having a lot of "old standby" dinners recently, so we were in the mood for something new.

The Product: Jennie-O Turkey Brats

Ever since I saw these on The Biggest Loser, I've been meaning to try them (hooray, product placement!). So, Hubby stopped at the grocery store on the way home and picked up all the fixin's for dinner. Turkey brats, light hotdog buns, and fresh corn on the cob.

The Verdict: Two thumbs up!

Pros:

The brats were super flavorful. They tasted like... well, like brats. There was nothing "light" tasting about them. I bet that if you served them at a cookout, your friends would never even know they were eating (gasp!) low cal.
They weren't greasy, like some of the full-fat ones can be. All that yucky stuff cooked off on the grill (our little George Foreman grease tray was full - gross!), leaving the brats grease-free, but still moist inside.
They are a teensy bit smaller than normal brats. For me, this is great. Normal brats are too big for my appetite, and they always hang off the ends of normal sized hotdog buns. These were just right (for me and the buns!). Even Hubby only needed one to be satisfied. However, if you have a big appetite, this may be con for you.
It's super easy to put together a full meal. Just throw them on the grill, boil (or grill) some corn and you're good to go!

Cons:

These may have been an easy meal, but they were not super quick. Like most brats, they take a while to cook all the way through. Ours took 40-45 minutes on the George Foreman (set to medium). When we're hungry, that's a looooong time.

So, let's hear the numbers.

Jennie-O Turkey Brats weigh in at only 170 calories, about 100 fewer calories than normal brats (I used Johnsonville Original Bratwurst for comparison). They do contain 10 grams of fat, but that's not so bad when you compare them to twenty-two grams of fat in normal brats, and they actually have MORE protein than normal brats (17 grams versus 15 grams). The bad news? They're pretty high in sodium, with 670mg (810mg in the full fat version). So, like any food, you can't eat them everyday. They're definitely a better alternative for the occassional summer cookout, though.

We enjoyed ours on light hotdog buns (80 calories each), with an ear of fresh corn (about 150 calories), and some delicious juicy watermelon (about 100 calories for a good sized slice).

Cupcakes for Dinner!

2009-04-01T21:29:00.003-05:00

April Fools! They're meatloaf cupcakes with mashed potato frosting. When I saw this idea on Food Network's Healthy Eats blog for April Fool's Day, it was too cute to pass up. I'm a big kid at heart, so I was in love with the idea of cupcakes for dinner.

I just used this basic turkey meatloaf recipe and some instant mashed potatoes, and voila! A cute, healthy dinner. I made half the meatloaf in a normal loaf pan to freeze for later, and divided the other half into 8 cups of a muffin tin. 2 meatloaf muffins = 1 (161 calorie) serving. Admitedly, the outcome isn't quite as adorable as the concept. Next time I would spray the muffin tin with cooking spray so they come out a little better, and if you want to get really fancy, put the mashed potatoes in a ziplock with the corner cut off and ice those meatloaves like a pro!

Note: I baked the meatloaf muffins for only 45 minutes instead of an hour and 15 minutes. Next time, I'd start checking them even earlier, probably around 40 minutes.

Happy April 1!

Happy Spring!

2009-03-21T14:36:00.003-05:00

My favorite season has officially begun! Yesterday marked the first day of spring, and the weather here in Chicago has reflected the change, bringing us a beautiful day. It's sunny, not a cloud in the sky, and around 50 degrees. We started the day with a family run to the dog park, and we're hoping to walk around our beautiful city some more this afternoon.

Though I know this weather probably won't last (it is Chicago, after all), I'm glad that winter is coming to an end. I can't wait to spend more time outside and enjoy the flowers!

Super Flavorful Turkey Burgers

2009-03-19T21:59:00.003-05:00

Hubby and I don't buy ground beef anymore. We like ground turkey because it's healthier, and in many cases, there's not much difference in taste. For example, tacos made with ground turkey don't taste any different than those made with ground beef. Our turkey burgers, however, have always been a little... lacking. The flavor's ok, but it just isn't the same as ground beef, and we usually try to make it a little more interesting with cheese, ketchup, pickles, and lots of other condiments.

The other night, I was looking for something different, so I googled "turkey burgers" and came up with a lot of different recipes. This recipe is adapted from one I found on allrecipes.com called Cumin Turkey Burgers. My version is below:

Super Flavorful Turkey Burgers

1/8 C. egg substitute
a few strips bell pepper, chopped
1 clove garlic, minced
1/8 cup low-sodium soy sauce
1/8 cup Worcestershire sauce
1 teaspoon ground cumin
1/2 teaspoon paprika
1/2 teaspoon chili powder
dash salt
1/8 cup dry bread crumbs
3/4 pounds ground turkey

Directions
Mix the egg, chopped bell peppers, and garlic in a large mixing bowl until the egg is well blended. Add the soy sauce, Worcestershire sauce, cumin, paprika, chili powder, salt, bread crumbs, and turkey; mix well and form into 4 patties.
Cook the turkey burgers on a preheated grill (we use our trusty George Foreman) until no longer pink in the center and the juices run clear, about 5 minutes. Serve on toasted hamburger buns.

Tips:
-Next time you're at the grocery store, pay attention to the nutrition facts on your hamburger buns. Jewel (a grocery store here in Chicago) offers light hamburger buns that are only 80 calories each. Other brands can have more than twice that many calories!
-These burgers were so tasty that we didn't even need cheese. We tried a few different toppings to add a little moisture, though. Hubby's favorite is Garden Fresh Gourmet Salsa (10 calories for 2 tbsp), and I loved it with Athenos Roasted Red Pepper hummus (50 calories for 2 tbsp).

a yummy turkey burger with red pepper hummus

The best part of these burgers was how quickly I whipped them up. It only took a few minutes to mix up all the ingredients and throw them on the grill. That, plus all the lean protein makes this great for any weeknight meal. Toss a salad, and you're good to go. Burgers (without buns or toppings) are 148 calories each. Spark it here.

Frugal February - a recap

2009-03-15T21:16:00.007-05:00

I've had a few requests to talk about our Frugal February, so I thought I'd give you guys a breakdown.

Photo source: http://icanhascheezburger.com

It was actually very simple. We cut out all unnecessary spending, which to us, means everything except bills, groceries, the car payment, and rent. Our normal bills include gas (just cooking gas. Our heat is paid for by our landlord), cable and internet, and electricity. We also have a Netflix account, as well as automatically refilling passes for Illinois tolls and public transportation. We did not cut down on any of these things. We even kept our normal cable package, which has a few extras like DVR and HD.

What we cut out was everything else. Normally, we'd go out to dinner on the weekends, maybe grab a beer at the local Marquette bar if we couldn't get the game on TV at home. Occassionally one of us would go out to lunch during the week or buy a snack from a vending machine. For this month, we didn't go out to any movies, restaurants, or bars. We stopped buying alcohol (even at the grocery store). We didn't buy anything for our apartment, and didn't even go to Target once!

The hardest thing for us to cut out was beer. This was tough, because while hubby and I don't drink at all during the week or very much on the weekend, it's still nice to relax at home with a movie or board game and a few beers on the weekends.

To keep us from feeling too deprived, we each got an allowance of $20 for the month. This money could be used towards anything (including beer), and most of our allowance ended up going towards Miller High Life (classy, I know). Some of my money went towards a one night trip up to Milwaukee to visit some of my college friends. That night we grabbed a burger at my FAVORITE place from college, which was about $9. The rest of my money and all of hubby's went towards two cases of beer that lasted throughout the month.

For fun on the weekends, we hung out with friends and just stayed in, played Mario Kart on Wii and Scrabble, and cooked a lot of meals at home.

It's amazing how much money you spend on little things that you don't even realize. I think this month really taught us that it's not too hard to save money, we just have to pay more attention to where our money goes.

Happy St. Patty's!

2009-03-15T20:45:00.005-05:00

Cheers! May the luck of the Irish be with you!

This past weekend hubby and I celebrated with a green beer and some chants of "Go Green!" while watching his basketball team play. Even though they did not win that game, they still earned themselves a 2 seed in the NCAA tournament. My basketball team earned a 6 seed, so we'll both be watching them play on Friday.

Before the game, we hopped the el downtown to witness a Chicago tradition: dying the river green for St. Patrick's Day!

A few members of the plumber's union get to do the honors and drive up and down the river in a motorboat, tossing an orange powder into the water. Another boat follows behind to stir it all up. As you can see, it gets REALLY green! We gathered, along with hundreds (maybe even thousands) or other Chicagoans to witness this tradition. I'm really glad we got a chance to experience it!

We also enjoyed the chance to hang out with my brother-in-law and his girlfriend, and had a great weekend. I hope your St. Patrick's Days were just as wonderful!

Good News!

2009-03-15T16:06:00.002-05:00

Good news, blog world: I got a full time job! (Before now, I was temping and looking for full time employment). Maybe this economy is looking up after all? While this has been great for me and for our bank account, my blog has definitely been neglected. I've just been too busy to cook, or at least to cook anything interesting. From now on, expect to see a lot of healthy quick meals.

Another bit of good news: our 30 day Healthy Body, Healthy Bank Account was (mostly) a success! I say mostly because we didn't focus on the healthy body part as much as we should have. In general, we ate better and went to the gym once or twice a week, but we could have done better. Fortunately, despite our (lack of) dedication we still managed to lose a little weight! The really successful part, though, was the healthy bank account. (In fact, we even renamed our challenge "Frugal February" about halfway though). Between my new paycheck, our tax return, and our dedication to not spending any money unnecessarily, are bank account is now thriving! Who knows? Frugal February may become a yearly tradition for us. It really wasn't that hard to cut back on a few things for only 4 short weeks, and the boost it gave our savings was definitely worth it.

For now, our healthy body quest continues. Hopefully the nice weather and sun will get us off our butts more often and outside (even if we're only outside for the walk to the gym). It's amazing how much more motivated I am to go to the gym when I don't have to bundle up to do it!

Now it's time to go walk the dog. I hope you all are enjoying this beautiful day!

A Valentine's Day Meal

2009-02-15T11:59:00.005-06:00

Last night Hubby and I celebrated Valentine's Day by spending a quiet night in. We made dinner together and watched movies (He chose The Sting, I chose Made of Honor).

Risotto is one of my favorite things, and I've been craving it recently. When I was thinking about what the "perfect meal" would be, I automatically thought of risotto, plus one of my favorite proteins (salmon) and one of my favorite vegetables (asparagus). How delicious does that sound? After a little googling, I found a great recipe, and I've been waiting for an opportunity to try it. Valentine's Day was the perfect time to try out this special meal. The recipe is below, with my small changes.

Salmon Asparagus Risotto

1 medium onion, diced (a little more than 1 cup)
4 tablespoons butter (I used margarine)
1 lemon
1 cup arborio rice
2 cups chicken broth
2 cups water
8 to 12 spears cooked asparagus, cut into 1-inch lengths
8 ounces salmon filet, skin and bones removed and cut into 1-inch pieces (We had 12 oz, so that's what I used)
3/4 cup grated parmesan cheese
Extra parmesan to garnish each dish

Directions

Cook the onion in butter over medium heat until the onion is soft. Zest the lemon and stir it in.

Stir in the arborio rice to coat all grains with butter.

Start adding the broth 1/2 C. at a time. Simmer until the broth reduces and thickens. Continue adding the broth as this happens. Then add the water 1/2 C. at a time. Stir frequently. During this process, add lemon juice to the mixture as well.

Cook the asparagus (I did this in the microwave) and cut it and the salmon into 1 inch pieces. I seared the salmon for a few minutes on each side before cutting it into pieces. Just enough so that it was still raw in the middle. The salmon will cook the rest of the way after you add it to the risotto.

When the rice is almost done, add in the parmesan cheese and season with salt, pepper, and some more lemon juice. Let the mixture get really hot, then remove from heat, add salmon and asparagus, and cover for 5 minutes.

Stir occasionally to make sure the salmon gets completely cooked. Mine cooled quickly, so I had to turn the heat back on low to make sure the salmon cooked thoroughly. If you do this, make sure to keep stirring so you don't burn the bottom.

Serve with grated parmesan on top. We also had some Italian bread on the side. For us, this made 5 hearty servings.

To spark it, click here. At 373 calories per serving, it's not as low-cal as some of my other meals, but you can still definitely fit it into a healthy meal plan.

Now, what would Valentine's Day be without something sweet to finish off the meal? For dessert, I whipped up a batch of my mom’s super easy brownies. (They're so easy, you don't even need to dirty your mixer. All you need is a wooden spoon and 2 bowls).

Mom’s Brownies:
Melt together (in microwave or small saucepan):
2/3 C. margarine
4 squares unsweetened chocolate

Combine:
1 C. egg beaters (or 4 eggs – 2 whole, 2 whites)
2 C. sugar
2 tsp. vanilla
1 C. flour
dash salt

Fold in melted chocolate and margarine into the combination of all other ingredients. Bake in a 9x13 lightly greased pan for about 25 minutes (until a toothpick comes out clean).

Our heart cookie cutter got a little more use for the brownies, which we served with some Lite Cool Whip.

This recipe makes 24 brownies, which come out to 190 calories each - not ideal, especially since the hearts were about the size of 2 brownies! Oh well, we were celebrating. (If you want to spark it, click here).

Happy Valentine's Day!

2009-02-14T20:12:00.004-06:00

I hope you are all celebrating with someone you love today! Hubby and I are still working on our 30 Day Challenge, so we stayed in tonight and cooked a wonderful dinner together. Not only was it easy on the wallet, it's pretty low-cal and delicious, too! I'll be blogging about our Salmon and Asparagus Risotto and heart-shaped brownies tomorrow.

For now, I'll leave you with a picture of my breakfast, which Hubby brought to me in bed this morning. He woke me up with a plate of heart-shaped egg beaters and toast topped with a little brown sugar. Yummy! (and good for me! Only 178 calories, even after I added ketchup to my eggs). He's good to me :)

Enjoy the rest of your Valentine's Day!

Love,
Allie

Hehehe! Mooo

2009-02-13T21:59:00.004-06:00

Laughing Cow cheese is a great snack; it's low-cal and yummy! When I saw this recipe on several blogs (including Macaroni and Cheesecake, Love Deliciousness, and Le Petit Pierogi) I knew it had to be good. Each of these blogs shows a different variation of the recipe, but I followed the one on Macaroni and Cheesecake most closely.

Laughing Cow Stuffed Chicken

Ingedients
4 chicken breasts (about 5 oz. each)
4 wedges Laughing Cow Original Light
1 tsp garlic
McCormick's Italian Seasoning
1/4 C. bread crumbs
dash parmesan cheese (about 1/2 tbsp)
dash dried parsley (about 1/2 tsp)

Directions
Pound out the chicken breasts until thin. On each chicken breast, spread 1 wedge Laughing Cow Light cheese, 1/4 tsp garlic, and some McCormick Italian Seasoning. Roll up each chicken breast and secure with a toothpick.

In a shallow dish, combine bread crumbs, parmesan cheese, and parsley. Dip each rolled chicken breast in the mixture and place on a greased cooking sheet. Bake at 400 degrees until no longer pink, about 25-30 minutes. Remove the toothpicks and serve.

I served this dinner with a spinach and romaine salad with feta, Craisins, and light raspberry vinaigrette and some warm Italian bread. Delicious! My husband and our dinner guest both loved it.

To add this to your Spark People nutritional info, click here.

Quick info (for one serving):
Calories: 236.6
Fat: 4.6 g
Carbs: 6.6 g
Protein: 38.9 g

Tuckered Out Pup

2009-02-10T21:11:00.003-06:00

I know I already posted pics from our trip, but this was just too cute to resist. Obie went to a kennel (aka fun doggy play time) for the 5 days we were on vacation, and he came back sooo tired! He was also smelly, so he got a nice bath and then passed out and has not woken up since.

I love this pic of my boys cuddling on the couch! I think he's happy to be home :)

30 Day Challenge

2009-02-10T20:24:00.011-06:00

Cheers, friends!

Hubby and I just returned from the sunny land south of the border. We were in Puerto Morelos for our friends' (the lovely people pictured above) wedding. Even though we didn't get very tan (it was a bit cloudy), we had a great time and came back refreshed and ready to conquer a new 30 day challenge. But before we get to all that, some pictures:

Walking back down the aisle as husband and wife!

(Hubby's in the background in the lavender shirt)

Me, enjoying a delicious pina colada

As you can see, we had some fun!

We decided to begin our "Healthy Body, Healthy Bank Account" challenge as soon as we returned to the United States. There are a few reasons for this. First of all, despite our efforts in the past 100 days, we're still not all the way to our health goals, and all the wonderful food we ate in Mexico certainly didn't help. Also, our trip to Mexico was great and we wouldn't have missed the wedding for the world, but it requires us to be a little smarter about our finances in the coming month. Especially since I'm still seeking full time employment, and my temp positions are a bit sporadic.

So, in the spirit of that, we'll be cutting out all spending this month except for groceries and bills. We'll also be cutting out one of our main indulgences: beer. That one should help both our healthy body and our healthy bank account goals! Since we won't be going out to dinner or to the bars on weekends, we'll have a lot more time to head to the gym as well. To help us stick to our goals, we're giving ourselves a little wiggle room - an allowance of $20 each for the month to spend on whatever we want. (I already know what I'm spending mine on!)

Stay tuned for more healthy (and budget conscious) recipes!

A Taste of Summer

2009-01-27T20:18:00.007-06:00

To me, kabobs are totally a summer food. They're light, have lots of fresh veggies and fruits, and are usually cooked on a grill. Here in Chicago, we're very far from summer. It's cold, gray, and just plain blah. We definitley needed something to brighten up our day, and this colorful dinner did the trick!

Earlier in the afternoon, I whipped up a super simple marinade with some stuff I had around the house. I cut two chicken breasts up into small pieces (about 1 in x 1 in) and marinated them in a ziplock bag for a few hours.

Marinade*:

3/4 C Fat Free Italian Dressing

1/2 C lemon juice

2 tsp garlic

1/2 tsp black pepper

2 Chicken breasts

For the Skewers:

3 bell peppers (I used one green, one red, and one yellow for some color)

1 small onion

fresh pineapple

After the chicken has marinaded for a few hours and the veggies and fruits have been chopped, alternate them on bamboo skewers. I balanced the skewers across a low baking pan lined with aluminum and broiled them. This was actually the first time I'd ever used the broiler (shocking!), so I kept an eye on them throughout the cooking process. It took about 12 minutes.

While those were cooking, I made some brown minute rice for a starch, and before I knew it, they were ready to serve!

Delicious! Lean protein and lots of veggies (and fruits!) made this a satisfying and complete meal. At about 150 calories per skewer, you can't go wrong. Spark it here.

*Note: Since so much marinade gets thrown away and not eaten, the calories are calculated using much smaller amounts of each marinade ingredient. Hopefully my estimations are accurate!

C is for Cookie (Dough), That's Good Enough For Me!

2009-01-26T13:27:00.007-06:00

WARNING: These are NOT healthy! They are, however, delicious, delectable, and positively sinful. Make at your own risk!

I was browsing recipe blogs a few weeks ago when I came across these little yummies: Cookie Dough Truffles. I adore cookie dough (sometimes more than the resulting cookies) so I couldn't pass this up. The recipe is not exactly healthy (at just under 100 calories for each little truffle, according to my calculations), so I think of this as a special occassion recipe. Ever since I saw the blog post, I've been trying to come up with an excuse to make them. This weekend, I finally found one! My friend's bachelorette party was on Saturday, so I tried them out, and they were a hit!

This recipe was found on the blog My Kitchen Cafe, and originally adapted from Taste of Home.

Cookie Dough Truffles

½ cup butter, softened

¾ cup packed brown sugar

2 1/4 cups all-purpose flour

1 can (14 ounces) sweetened condensed milk

1 teaspoon vanilla extract

½ cup miniature semisweet chocolate chips

½ pounds semisweet chocolate candy coating (I used Baker's Semisweet Squares)

Using a mixer, cream together the butter and brown sugar. Add the flour, sweetened condensed milk and vanilla extract. When those are well mixed, add in the chocolate chips. Shape into 1 inch balls and place on baking sheets covered in waxed paper. Freeze the cookie dough balls for a few hours.

When the dough is frozen, melt the chocolate in a microwave safe bowl, stirring often. (Be careful not to burn it! I wasted some chocolate this way). Dip the cookie dough balls in chocolate and place on waxed paper. Place in the fridge until the chocolate is firm. For me, this made about 80 truffles.

For decoration, I drizzled some melted white chocolate on top. I planned on dying the white chocolate pink for the bachelorette party, but I ran out of time. Hubby had to drizzle the white chocolate for me while I finished blow drying my hair and getting ready!

Yummy!

(For Sparkers: I calculated this recipe at 98.1 calories each for 80 truffles. Someone else had already entered the recipe, but came up with only 36 truffles for 137.8 calories each. It appears they used a lot less chocolate for dipping (I don't know how!). Just be aware!)