Traveling = Busy Month

I have been in and out of town- mostly out- for the past few weeks. Getting ready for our trips was a bit stressful, but once we have left I have been relaxed and am having a fabulous time.

I just wanted to share some fun foodie things from my visit to Kansas City, MO.

First my sister in law took me to the best ever farmers market. I have never seen anything like it. Huge bags if veggies for 5/$1, tubs of peppers for $1, a full spice shop, and more. I wanted to go home a cook so badly. The colors and smells there left me totally inspired. I really need to find a similar market back home...

My brother and his family also treated me to some real Kansas City BBQ. It was insane. Definitely in the top two BBQ places I have ever eaten. I had the pulled pork sandwich and I wanted to cry with every bite - it was that good.

Thank you Kansas City for teaching me how much produce G
should cost, and what BBQ should taste like :)

Thankful

I have a confession; We do not have cable.  Gasp!  It really doesn't have much to do with the monthly fee - although we don't like having to pay so much mula for it.  We haven't paid for cable since 2006.  We settled on an antenna in our attic.  It is only sometimes annoying, like when a plane flies over for instance.  As long as the airport and I coordinate so they don't need to land during the Bachelorette we are all happy.  But for some reason they won't call me back.  I don't get it, I only wanted to ask.

 Someone *cough*  may have forgotten to order a Father's Day gift with enough time for it to be delivered on time, so we now have a free trial of Amazon Prime - free two day shipping is magical - One of the perks for Amazon Prime is the free shows and movies.  We are documentary dorks, so this weekend we decided to see what they offered.  (I swear my rambling does make sense...)  We came across Spirit of the Marathon.

                      photo courtesy of imdb.com

This movie was great.  I can't lie, I did doze off for about 10 mins, but such is the life of a Mother of three.  I was particularly moved by Kathrine Switzer.  She is the one who made it "acceptable" for women to run.  She is truly an inspiration, and left me wanting to write her a thank you note.  I won't tell you exactly what she did, but you can visit her website (just click on her name) to learn more about her.  After you read her story, she will leave you looking forward to your next race - because she is largely to thank for making it all possible for women. 

This weekend I am grateful we don't have cable AND that I, *I mean someone*, forgot to order a Father's Day gift.  Because without those two things, we wouldn't have found and watched this movie. (Told you it would all come together :) )

Rock my world

This week has been - to say the least - mind blowing. There have been huge highs, and some lower than low points.

Two surprises - one amazing!

one AWFUL.

I never saw these things coming. Like a deer in the headlights they hit me.

Goals for this week:

Hold my children a little tighter

Let my husband know I love and appreciate him more

And lastly,

get my husband healthy! (his health this weekend was the 3 surprise...)

Working It Out

Despite my lack of posts, I have been hitting the pavement, as well as my DVD player :)

I have been limiting my miles to 10 or less per week (shock, gasp!)

It is very frustrating at times, but I have felt this is what I need to do with my other current health "issues."

I have had fun running along the river with my friend and her two kiddos. I am sure we look like quite the site running with 4 kids, and the kiddos passing crackers across strollers while we run. We have had a great time :)

I have also been working with my Jillian Michaels DVD and she kicks my butt every time. Especially with the Hollow Man with Scissor Kicks move. YOWZA!

But my abs and butt are thanking me... I love it when I can feel how hard my muscles have worked.

With all of my double stroller running, it has really improved my solo running time! I ran 4 miles at approx a 7:36 pace. I guess I should have done more of my half-marathon training with the stroller! Next time I guess...

Feeling Crafty

I saw these cute little cake plates on The Crafting Chicks blogs, and I fell in love with the idea. We love to entertain, and it is always fun to have decorative plates and such. I just made a small tray and would hold petite desserts.

I used:
(1) candle stick (dollar tree)
(1) pretty yellow plate (goodwill)
GLUE - E6000

VOILA!

Ain't it perrtty?

All or Nothing

All or nothing
go big or go home
don't hold back
150%

Sometimes I drive myself crazy. You see, all of the above words describe my attitude. When I commit to something I completely DIVE into them. I have to give it my all! In baking, crafting, cooking, teaching, running, etc... I can't rest until I am satisfied. And I will meet my goals! While I usually see this quality as an asset, I think it hurts me at times.

Let me get to the point:
I can't do the same running schedule I was maintaining only a few months ago. There are a few reasons for this. But it is what I think is best at this time. But is so frustrating! I have a hard time now working out 1/2 the amount that I was.

When I am feeling stressed, I want to RUN or have an abs date with Jillian Michaels. It helps me to feel better! I love the way I feel after I get a good sweat on.
When there are so many things right now that I can't control (mainly other health issues!) I feel like my working out and weight are something that I can control - - but that is another post. :)

I wish I could get the same enjoyment out of working out less, but it just isn't the same. I suppose I just need to learn to enjoy my new workout regimen a little more and give IT my 150%. Because that is all I can do. And I can choose to be happy with it! It is up to me and I just need to learn to love my new routine!

Here is to a new found fun in my new workouts -- running (just less miles) included!!

Does it drive you crazy when you feel you can't give something all you have?

Chicken n Waffles

I found this shirt at the Nike Outlet over the weekend. I was a few notches beyond excited when I found it! Jay and I lived in dirty south, A-town, Hotlanta, Atlanta for about a year. We loved it, and we loved all the waffle houses we saw at every freeway exit. We lived about a block from the famous FOX theater, and a block in the other direction from Gladys Knight's Chicken n Waffles restaurant. So this shirt sort of takes me back to the good 'ole peach state. I would have paid a hefty price for this beauty but fortunately (for our bank account) only had to pay $10. DEAL! I would wear it everyday if it wasn't for that whole stinky hygiene thing and not wanting to run my washing machine everyday.

When you buy a new shirt do you want to wear it all the time, or do you save it for a special occassion?

Possible Race

When I become obsessed with something I have a difficult time not talking about it.. A LOT! I like to talk, infact one of my former nicknames was Chatterbox Chandler. It fits. Since running has been a new passion of mine, I have been talking to a lot of friends and family about racing, and why I run. I was even able to connect with my cousins wife who can run a 3:12 marathon, and has 4 kids. She totally inspires me. She even ran the Boston Marathon pregnant... ok ok she was only about 5 weeks along but it totally counts! I have a friend from high school that wants to race with me this Summer and I have challenged my bro to a half marathon, and my Dad even says he is interested. SWEET! Watch out friends and family - - I WILL get you running!!! I think they may all start to avoid me soon. I have a dream about running with my whole HS group of girls and run a race someday! Wouldn't that be a kick in the pants? - in a good way :) OK - there I go chatting again. Anyways, onto the point : I have been talking with my sister in-law about starting to run more. She is a busy professional that is exhausted by the time she gets home, but she really wants to get fit. Plus she lives near (read watches people running from her bedroom window) some of the BEST trails in the whole area and I always tell her she really needs to take advantage of them! She has been showing interest and has committed to running a 5k coming up! YAY! I am so excited for her. This will be her second 5k and this time she is hoping to train more :)

Jay and I are also planning on running this race along with her. I can't decide between the 5k and 10k. The full on 3 mile sprint challenge of the 5k excites me, but I really enjoy a little longer distances, plus Jay is running the 10k. I am torn.

ANY SUGGESTIONS?

I am looking forward to another race in May. It should be a fun time! With kids in tow! Thank you BOB double strollers for making this possible.

Any input would be appreciated!

Keeping busy

I have to stay busy. If I have more than one day where I don't have something going on, I go stir crazy! I feel completely lazy and get quite grumpy. But if I get too busy, then I get stressed which again means "meet Mrs. Grumpy Pants"...I just need that desirable happy medium. :) With the need to stay busy we have been at the park much more frequently. Now that both of my kiddos are completely mobile and can {somewhat} safely climb and jump, parks have become so much more fun! They both climb on the jungle gyms, go down the slides, dig in the sand, and swing! I am loving every second of it.

The sun has finally decided to make a grand appearance around these parts, and we have been taking full advantage of it. We have spent hours every day outside soaking up the springtime sun. Unfortunately the sun is supposed to disappear later this week. BOO! Taking advantage of the sun led us on a little adventure; last week we went to a fairytale themed park. It was fun for each of us!

Unfortunately this photo is not evidence of all the fun we had...
*Any suggestions on how to NOT look like I am 16???
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Yesterday was all kinds of busy! We had three different sets of company at our house from sun up to sun down yesterday. To end the evening we had our good friends over for some dessert and Jay requested THE cake. Remember that one? It was a huge hit for the second time!

If you like chocolate and peanut butter, I highly recommend this three tier beauty. Every bite tastes better than the last, and you are left licking your plate clean. If you are interested in the recipe let me know and I will pass it along.

What are you doing to stay busy?

Do you go stir crazy when you have too much free time?

Variety

Things have been, well, BUSY around here. Fortunately the weather has been fantastic, so running has been wonderful this week! I even busted out the ol' jogging stroller a couple of times. I think the kids enjoyed the fresh air as much as I did.

Random Fact:
I am a person that needs variety. In everything in my life I need variety: changing up my workouts, clothes, styles, etc... And as far as food, I crave different things all the time and I feel it my duty to fulfill my crazy cravings...After all, my body has treated me well in holding together while running, so I think I owe it a reward or two :)
There is one exception to my need of variety, and it is THIS:
Baked Oatmeal. I have been known to eat this stuff for multiple meals a day (2 usually)...several days in a row. My favorite fruit additions lately are strawberries, blueberries, and frozen (thawed) blackberries. I have been tweaking the recipe, so I need to update it with all my new changes - only a few - and it is better than ever. I LOVE THIS STUFF. And it is good for you, real good. I have been eating a whole lot of this stuff lately. I can't help it. It makes me excited to wake up in the morning.

For my workouts this week I added plenty of variety! I ran with and without the double jogger, got my groove on with Turbo Jam, and finally I got reacquainted with Jillian Michaels and my abs. They have been screaming at me and burning good ever since. I love working out with Jillian, my only complaint is that the DVD I have is a little longer than I always have time for unless I get up way before the kiddos.

Overall, I am feeling pretty good this week. My knee and calf are both slowly starting to feel better. The only thing I would change from the week is I would knock out a few of the sweets I have eaten this weekend. Really, I have eaten less sweets than usual (I like to think) but they have been calling me by name and I hate to be rude and not respond with a bite or ten :)

How has your week been?

Do you need variety in your life?

What is this blog?

Was my last post really on Thursday? I have been totally slacking on my blogging lately. It is not about forgetting about this blog. I have thought about it daily...several times a day in fact. A lot of what I have been thinking about is simply, "What is this blog about?"
When I started it at the beginning of January, I thought I knew exactly what it would be about. But I feel like it is changing the focus a little. I think it is a blog for everything I am passionate about! When I named it, I did have that in mind; PLAY {my family} EAT {cooking and baking} RUN {my new love for running}. I am still trying to figure out exactly where this blog is going. So please bear with me as I am exploring what direction I want to take the blog. After all, this blog was made to be an outlet for me. I am excited to keep updating this blog and allowing it to go wherever it may. Thanks for reading!

** as for running, I have been taking a break for a number of reasons, but at the top is to simply take time to FULLY heal my knee and calf. I want to get back to 100% so I can fully enjoy it again! I am still running just not logging nearly the miles I was. I am considering posting the other reasons I am cooling down my miles. -- but we will see

**I have been hanging out with my Turbo Jam DVD and although it doesn't work my body the same, it still feels good to be moving! I have been going crazy on the days where a workout just can't be squeezed in. Those days are hard for me...

I will be back tomorrow with a delicious whole wheat bread recipe! Stay tuned...

Happy St. Patrick's Day!

I set the alarm to get up and work out this morning. But the alarm was promptly turned off when the buzzer sounded. It was a late night, and I just couldn't get my buns out of bed! I didn't work out today, and I always feel so grungy when I don't work out. I wanted to make up my workout later in the day, but it was BIZ--AY with all sorts of St. Patrick's day goodness.

At the top of that list were these little cuties.

I have always wanted to make rainbow cupcakes, and today was the day! Maister was excited to help out, and Gator was happy to eat the frosting.

The inside. They turned out pastel colors, so I guess I need to add more coloring next time. I wanted them to be a bold red, yellow, green, blue and purple.

All ready to go deliver some holiday goodies to friends. Maister chose who we delivered them too, and she was excited to see her little friends! -- Man, I really need to start doing stuff with my hair...like maybe curl it or style it in some way. I don't think the blow dryer is considered styling it anymore...--

St. Patty's isn't my favorite holiday, but this year it was so much more fun than usual! I love that my kiddos are getting old enough to enjoy green milk, and having permission to pinch those not wearing green :)

This holiday is quickly moving its way up my favorites list. It was FUN day :)

Say it Ain't So

Here is a quick training update:

Saturday: 10.6 miles 8:19 pace

Tuesday: 6.04 miles 8:12 pace

Thursday: 6.16 miles 8:07 pace

Now, to the bad news.
Tuesday I left early in the morning to venture out on my run. I was tired, and not too thrilled to be up running! But I enjoyed the cool air. As I was running, I felt like my legs were on FIRE. While running, I was thinking of what the proper description would be for how my calves were feeling. INFERNO was the best word I could come up with. I wasn't sure why my calves were feeling so crummy. So I got home and iced a little, but thought it would pass, and that they just need to stretch out a little.

Fast forward to Thursday. Got up early again, and as I took my first 2 or 3 strides my right leg was in big pain. I even limped those strides. But right after those steps I was no longer limping and was able to go on with my run with relative ease. That is until I got a 1/4 mile from home and had to stop and start up again at a stop light. Once again, my right leg felt like it could fall off (exaggeration: yes :) ) Looking back, I wish I just would have stopped after the first stride and crawled back in to recover and not do more damage! but I didn't know...

SO - I don't know what is wrong! All I know is that both my right and left legs are dying right now! It is mostly my right calf, and a little in left knee (no surprise as I have babied it for the past 8 years since my ACL repair).

Ice, heat, REPEAT! That is all that is going through my head right now. That, and the fear of not being able to run next week.

I am so nervous about that whole situation. I am supposed to run 8miles on Saturday, 5 monday, 4 wednesday and 2 friday. I am confident that 8 miles will not be happening on Saturday. As of right now, I am planning on resting until Monday in the hopes that things will work themselves out, and then try for 4 or 5 Monday morning.

I believe God answers prayers, and I have been praying all day that I will be able to complete my half marathon next Saturday. This is what I have been working towards since last fall. Then I will rest for longer than a few days. I have some other hopes for right after my half.

If you made it all the way through this novel, THANK YOU!

Anyone have any suggestions on what I can do to have a speedy recovery???? What could be going on in my calf?

Motherhood

I am totally craving a run today! But I am trying to stay close to the training schedule, so I will feel fully ready for my 10.2 miler on Saturday. I can hardly wait!
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _

A good friend of mine posted this on her blog yesterday and I loved it. I could completely relate to this. Before you become a Mom, it is hard to know what to expect. I knew it would be hard, I knew my patience would be tried, and I knew it would be fun! But what I didn't know was just how difficult motherhood would be. OR how wonderful Motherhood would be. I didn't know that I would cry more tears of joy than I thought was possible, or laugh harder than ever before. I wouldn't trade being a mother for anything.



What would you tell yourself if you could go back to before you had kids?

Weekend Fun

This weekend was fantastic! The weather was unbelievable! Blue skies, warm sun, slight breezes. We ate chinese, pizza, watched our team win on Saturday, and really just enjoyed spending time together has a family. That highlight for me was our family run on Saturday afternoon! Jay pushed Maister and Gator in the double stroller, and we ran just a pinch over 8 miles. It is nice to change things up and have some company for a run! Jay showed me some beautiful new trails that I hope we can begin to frequent. Plus we had to run up a nasty hill near the end of our run. It was a doozy! It was a great run, and Jay said he would join me for a run this next week too. SCORE! My Mom will be in town, so hopefully we can steal away for a few runs.

We also decorated valentine sugar cookies on Friday night!

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What did you do this weekend?

Orange you glad...

Did you grow up with those same knock knock jokes? You know, the ones that end with "Orange you glad I didn't say banana?" Or something like that. I used to love knock knock jokes.
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Anyways...
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You know in the movie Sleepless In Seattle, where Meg Ryan can peel an apple with the peel in one piece?? Has anyone else aspired to doing this? I have never forgotten that scene, and have secretly wished I could do the same. I feel like peeling the apple (is that considered peeling?) and an orange are pretty much in the same category. And today I peeled not only ONE tangelo in one piece, but TWO! IN A ROW nonetheless. I was thrilled! Check that off my bucket list please...

SO glad I spent the $3 on my bag of tangelos yesterday. We have already eaten a ton! These little suckers are delicious. Gator doesn't agree, and Maister only agrees about 1/2 the time. But fortunately I can gladly eat whatever they don't. If they eat the tangelo WIN, if they don't and I get to eat it, WIN! I love me a WIN WIN situation. And this truly is that!

Today I ran 5 miles at a 8 minute pace. Here was the breakdown:

Mile 1: 8:13
Mile 2: 7:41
Mile 3: 7:47
Mile 4: 7:41
Mile 5: 8:00

As I said after Monday's run, I can usually really bring it home on my last mile, but I have been feeling exhausted-to say the least!

Jay says I need to get to bed earlier, so I will work on that. Whatever it takes so I can actually ENJOY my morning runs again. I always anticipate my runs, but this week has been different. Hopefully Friday will hold a brighter day. Speaking of BRIGHTER, it was blue skies here today. I am sooo ready for Spring and wearing flip flops again!

Wednesday Happenings

As I said on our Week 4 Menu, tonight we planned on eating out. I made a request for Subway, and Jay put a smile on my face by letting me have my way. We both ordered the footlong Black Forest Ham on wheat. I wanted the Turkey Breast, or even Turkey Breast AND Black Forest Ham, but neither of those are on the $5 sandwich menu. And we are on a budget here people! Jay got chipotle sauce, and it was honey mustard for me.


I felt like they REALLY skimped on the veggies. And I hate being the person that keeps asking them to put on more. Next time I will just do it anyways, cause it was totally lacking. Thankfully, they did put a ton of banana peppers on, as I DID continued asking for more. I need a mild zing on my sandwiches! Overall it was delicious! Definitely hit the spot.

Maister shared my sandwich. She LOVED it. She even ate the spinach with no complaints. The tomato and cucumber were all picked out, but that's ok. Her love of spinach has been growing lately, and I will take what I can get!

Gator loved his cookie that Daddy spoiled he and sister with. The boy devoured it in no time. He even had a couple bites of my sandwich that included spinach! GO GATOR! He also had more meat and bread for his dinner. This boy is picky, so we kind of let him eat what he will right now.

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What tricks do you have for getting your kids to eat new foods?

Weekend Fun

I took Saturday day off of running to try and heal my foot and knee. I was dying to go for a run on Saturday as the weather was fantastic! The sun finally decided to shine, and you didn't even need a jacket. But I decided it was better to get my body back closer to 100% instead of making the problems worse. My foot is finally feeling better thanks to several foot massages from my J. And my knee is currently resting under a bed of ice. I can't wait to hit the pavement tomorrow morning! I have four miles on my training schedule for tomorrow. It should be an easy going run to warm me up for the rest of the week.

Saturday we cleaned, pulled weeds, and cleaned some more. Then J, Maister and I headed to the Nike Outlet while my sister in-law watched Gator (read: while sister in-law and Gator both napped). We got some slick shoes for Gator to grow into, and J may have talked me into picking up a little something. I will post on it after I try it out on the run tomorrow. I can't wait!

The Nike Outlet just had a new neighbor move in; Ghirardelli Chocolate Store

mmm. Here is only a sampling of the loot we picked up:
That gold one was Egg Nog. It tasted exactly like egg nog. I could have passed :) My favorite we have tried so far was the chocolate peanut butter. But that is really no surprise since I practically inhaled THE cake from a few weeks ago.

For our date we went for chinese food with some friends, watched the BYU vs. CSU game, and followed it with some grocery shopping. Romantic. Actually it was great. J was on the phone, so I didnt' have to worry about in throwing random things into my cart, and he just followed me around the store while I shopped away. We had a whole chat before we began our shopping about how we are on a budget and he can't throw in stuff or it is going to throw me off for the rest of the month... Secretly I usually think it is cute when he throws things in. He always buys the "fun" stuff, aka the stuff I will never buy. I am sure the kids will beg for him to do the grocery shopping when they are older.

What did you do this weekend?