It is seriously cold out today so I decided to take my running indoors. I run about 30 miles a week and more often than not all of that is outside. I loathe the treadmill, we do not get along at all.  I got to the gym today and whipped out a really quick mile on the treadmill (8:22!) and then went to an Absolutely Abs class that wasn’t very impressive, the teacher wasn’t very clear and gave no explanations to what we were doing.  But 15 mins of abs is 15 mins of abs, I just did my own thing for most of the class.  Afterwards I was faced with getting back on the treadmill and I just couldn’t bring myself to do it. I looked upstairs, UA has a track that runs around the second floor and decided to see if I could play hamster for a few laps.  10 laps equals a mile and I managed to do 30!  I made a game out of it. The 1st and 5th lap of every 10 I ran balls to the walls, all out, every 10th lap I did something special, the first mile I ran the 10th lap backwards, I did the 20th lap skipping and the 30th lap I did walking lunges.  All of a sudden I had completed 3 miles in 28 mins, which considering I lunged one of those laps and ran another backwards is pretty stellar.  I felt totally whipped when I was done and think I will make Tuesday Track workouts a weekly staple. 

I picked up Harper from daycare and the lady told me she thought Harper was wet. I didn’t have any diapers on me so I headed out to the car and changed her in the seat.  Well once I got her down and the diaper off I realized too late that she wasn’t wet, she had an ass explosion.  There was orange oatmeal poop everywhere and of course I hadn’t put a blanket down, and of course it had come out of her diaper and was up her back.  I got my dipe wipes out and only had like 3 left.  Ack. So by the time I was done I had used all the wipes and the outfit she had on was covered in poop and there were poopy oatmeal flakes getting on my car seats.  Good times.  I finally got her into her reserve outfit (which was a size too small!) and was on my way home. I looked down only to realize that I had poop all over my hand.  I had no napkins so I just drove home with it hanging out on my fingers.  Good times.  Note to self: restock diaper bag.  When we got home Harper went straight into the bath!

Speaking of poop, lets talk fiber shall we! The nice people over at GNU foods sent me over some complimentary GNU bars to try out.  I was able to try each flavor. I think most people who are conscious of their diets are always looking for ways to sneak in more fiber and these bars totally fit the bill.

I had actually had the Cranberry Orange flavor before and really liked it. Out of the various flavors they sent me I think that I can easily say the Lemon Ginger is my favorite. It is the perfect combo of ginger and lemon, two of my favorite tastes. I really liked the banana walnut one too. The chocolate flavors were okay, but not my favorite.  I will definately be stocking up on the orange, lemon and banana ones.  You can order a 5 flavor sampler on their site for only $9.95. Not bad.   According to their site, one of their bars is equivalent to 4 glasses of metamucil, gee whiz!  Here are some more facts from their website:

Would you like to try one?  I have some left to giveaway to you guys.  Leave me a comment of what flavor you want and I’ll use random.org to pick 2 winners on Friday morning. 

I don’t really like to make desserts, like the key lime pie or quicky cookies, b/c I tend to eat them all. Usually standing in front of the sink using a shovel like motion.  I have no willpower, zip. I can get out there and run forever and overcome the mental delusions that make you want to stop 3 hours in, but I cannot walk past a brownie without inhaling it. It’s something I work on. I am finally getting to a point where I am getting a little self control.  But I think I came up with a good idea.  From now on I will do all my goody baking on Friday. Why?  Because on Saturday morning I meet people to run and this morning I greeted my friends with key lime pie!  So, I can eat a little myself and then pack the rest up to give to friends.  Good stuff.

I met my 2 friends Michelle and Katie for a nice 8 mile run at North Chagrin Reservation today.  The trails were icy and I wasn’t looking for a repeat of last weekend, so we stuck to the paved path.  We did man up and go down a really giant hill (down to wilson mills for those of you from around here) that we usually avoid and then hauled our booty’s back up it.  It was a great run. One of those that feels like you could just keep going. My muscles are really burning today b/c I made it to Urban Iron class yesterday (weight lifting) and I hadn’t been for awhile. I kept the weights light for the squats and lunges but my quads are still all burned up, as are my biceps.  But truth be told, I really enjoy that feeling!  It’s the sadist in my I guess.

Look what I got in the mail this week!


Don’t these look fun!  They are from the Frozen Slushie company out of Cleveland.  Everything you need, minus the alcohol is in the bag!  I am not a huge drinker, but I love margaritas.  Gary however doesn’t love margaritas b/c once I had a few and threw a fork at his head in a restaurant.  Ummm yeah, tequila makes me very angry, so I usually avoid it   But these are so cute that when it gets warmer out I plan to have a frozen drink party and invite some girlfriends over!   I think that these would make a really good gift for a bachelorette party or bridal shower, don’t you?  Which drink would you want to try?  The frozen vino sounds interesting.


I am already planning  the awesome party it in my head!  Fun will be had by all!  You’re all invited

The husband and I are heading to his mom’s house today to drop of Harper, then we are heading to the movies to see Sherlock Holmes. I’ve heard mixed reviews, my sister didn’t like it, my good friend Sara loved it.  So, we shall see.  It will be nice to look at Robert Downey Jr for 2 hours regardless.

A lot of people head inside to the treadmill once the temperature drops even a little bit. Not me!  I live in Cleveland and I would go insane if I didn’t get outside.  Today I might have bit off a little more than I could chew!  The plan was to meet at 9am to run the half marathon course that we have a race on in a few weeks, but it is 45 mins from my house on a good day.  I left with an hour and it took me almost 30 mins to even get to the highway, which usually takes me 15 mins.  So my friend Sara and I decided on a last minute locale swap and stuck closer to home.  I still had to drive on the highway and it was barely plowed. It was scary. I was glad to get out of my car.  We planned on 9-13 miles, but ended up with 6.  6 very tough miles. 

But it was beautiful out

If you dress appropriately there is really no reason not to get outside.  I was barely cold. I wore a tank top/bra top as my base layer, then a long sleeve wicking shirt on top of that and topped it off with a hind sports dry shirt with a hood and gloves built in, then I wore my wind resistant vest.  On the bottom I just had on some ski pants and wool socks. Most importantly I was wearing my trail shoes which are waterproof. Sara gave me my Xmas present, yak trax!  So, I christened those today too.

Happy to be done!  You know I love you guys b/c I post pics of myself with out makeup on.  Big step in our committed relationship. I think it took me about 3 months to let Gary see me without mascara on!  I think we are going steady now.  Afterwards I was HONNNGRRRY, so I had to stop at Panera and get a Frontega chicken sandwich, nothing healthy about it, but it is delicious. Grrr.

Before I left for my run this morning I mixed up a green drink. I tried this packet today:



That PB is just nuts, no added sugar and unsweetend soy milk, in case you were wondering!  So far so good on my no sugar cleanse.  Here is the finished product in my cute $2 Target cup:

Today’s drink wasn’t very good. I did everything the same except for the packet of mix in, so I think I’m not a fan, at least not compared to the last one I tried.

Yesterday on New Years we had 2 parties to go to. One up the street was a neighborhood brunch and then one at Gary’s aunt’s house for the OSU/OR game.  Fun was had by all.  Harper was into the snow.

And playing with her cousin

Okay and now for the winners of the Boomi bar giveaway courtesy of random.org!  #12 & # 30

Who runs outside when it’s 18 degrees and blowing snow? It’ me, It’s me!

It’s cold out there yo.
This is my why do I do this to myself face.  It ain’t pretty being hardcore.

I went out for a 4 miler with Fonzie this afternoon.  It was cold and wet and snowy out, but I did it anyway. I didn’t want to, but am so glad I did. It was just one of those really good runs, where you feel strong and fast and like you can keep on going.  Since I run with Fonzie I have to stick to the sidewalks which can be kind of dangerous, but luckily today I made it through without falling.

Dinner was simple and yummy.  Whole wheat spaghetti with sauce and chopped veggies. 
I found this brand of spaghetti sauce at the store one day and it is by far my favorite. I can’t buy another sauce now. Do you have one you really like? This one just tastes really fresh and you can taste the various herbs and veggies in it.  If you see it on your shelf I totally recommend it.


While at the store today I picked up this up because I had a coupon.  Yum to the ummmmm.

Dairy and I don’t get along, cue fart sound effect.  I have never found a soy ice cream that I really like, but this takes the cake for sure. Too bad it’s pricey, but most ice cream is anyway, especially if its organic.  Maybe the price will stop me from eating it all in one sitting.  Maybe….

And just because:

Good morning friends!  What an eventful night we had, but first, breakfast.  Today I had some oatmeal with a crumbled up walnut date Prana bar crumbled in it and some added frozen berries.  This was my first Prana bar and it was yummy, I will be doing a full product review and giveaway for some of these bars right after Xmas, so check back for that and right now scroll down and enter my Raw Revolution giveaway.  And of course some coffee.  I am really loving this 365 quick cook steel cut oats.  They are by far the best quick cooking ones I have had.


Soon I am off for a 10-13 mile trail run with Fonzie and some friends.  It’s cold out there, but not nearly as bad as Dec could be. 

Now I am about to share a truly disgusting story with you that I should really keep to myself.  But isn’t that the whole point of blogging, too much information constantly pouring out of our fingers?  Gary would probably appreciate me keeping this to myself as well, but oh well, he is now married to a world famous web blogger.  Anyone reading this who knows me in person will laugh b/c they know I am obsessed with potty humor. Poop is funny.  So, last night at 1:00 I feel Gary start awake and he says ”it’s happened again”. Cryptic, I wasn’t sure what he was talking about, but I smelled it super quick!  Fonzie had gotten up and roo’d around in the bed and wagged his tail and sprayed Gary with Shit spray….his anal glands were full and he needed to take a crap. So when he wagged his tail a little of anal juice came out all over Gary, and his pillow.   HAHAHA.  I was safe. This is actually the third time it’s happened believe it or not.  I’ve never had a dog do this before, he is going to get his anal glands drained next week for sure.  So, we jump up and remake the bed and I take Fonzie out. Then we get back in bed and I keep saying that it still stinks, but come up with what I believe to be a funny joke in my head so I am saying – I thought it was Fonzie’s butt, but its really your breathe that still stinks, are you sure you didn’t get some in your mouth – but I can’t get it out b/c I am laughing so hard and my eyes are watering and I’m totally peeing on myself a little (I do that a lot) and the next thing I know I get a nosebleed.  Ahhhh what a night.  Probably should have kept that story in the family, huh?

I got up bright and early on Sat to head out for a trail run with some friends. I woke up to freezing conditions so I decided to leave my dog Fonzie at home, much to his upset.  He just doesn’t have a very thick coat and I’m just not sure if its okay for him to be out in this weather for hours at a time. I think I will buy him a fleece coat, but wonder if that will just drive him crazy with the harness on too.  Anyone out there run with their dogs?  He does has long fur between his toes, so I think his pads will be okay, unless they get wet, then he’ll be miserable.  Anyway I planned on doing 10-11 miles and just thought it’d be too long out there for him. I wish I had taken him b/c I just ended up doing 5 miles.  Harper is really sick and we got started late, so I decided just to do 1 of the 2 planned loops b/c I figured hubby was at home pulling his hair out with a sick baby.  The problem with training for marathons for years on end is that when you do 5 miles, 5 hellacious hilly miles, you feel like you did nothing!  We are training for the Run for Regis 50K in Jan.  We are just doing the half marathon option. It is 2 loops, one a little over 8, one a little over 5.  It is horribly hilly and runs along the beautiful Buckeye Trail.  They only allow 250 runners, so we were lucky to get in.  They changed the course this year (I’ve run it previously, but not this course) so we have been heading down there to get acclimated.  I am looking forward to the race, but also looking forward to it being over. I have been focused on running races for so long, I’d like to focus more on yoga and swimming the rest of the winter, as opposed to mileage.  Here I am on the 30 min drive down, the photo is blurry, but that’s how I was feeling too as the sun isn’t even up!  Don’t worry I was at a stop sign. 


I had planned on finally trying this GU!  But since I cut the run short I didn’t get to. I did however eat the chomps before the run.  I liked the taste overall. They are smaller than shot blocks, so easier to chew, but the flavor isn’t as good as the Luna Moon chews in my opinion.

Since it was a trail run, I got to bring out my new kicks!  I won these last month at a local running store (Vertical Runner) ladies night and was totally geeked.  I run in stability shoes normally, so trail runs feel okay to me. I had some of these Cascadia’s before and I like them. But if you are not used to a rigid shoe, they could really give you some issues I think. I’m also wearing some Nike ACG socks, which are really warm and I like them a lot. I got them at Dick’s on sale once, they are a lot cheaper than smartwool, but just as warm.

Anyway I was all set and it was a really good run.  Some of the hills are insane. I got home to find out that Harper had slept the whole time I was gone!  So I wish I had just finished my run, but such is life when you are a mom!  I have a month until the race, so I have time to get in some good long runs, but every weekend from here on out needs to be double digits for sure.

I was originally going to make hubby a cake for his bday, but he decided he wanted cookies instead. So, I got out the tollhouse chocolate chip cookie recipe yesterday and went to work!  I was so proud of myself for making cookies from scratch.  Believe it or not this was the first time.  Well I knew something was wrong once they were in the oven. They were taking too long to cook and not turning brown.  When they were done, they tasted dry and cakey, really not good.  Long story short…I bought light Land O Lakes butter. Right there on the box it says – not recommend for baking. Sheesh. I felt pretty bad.  But once I remembered the awesome pork I made on Friday I got over it   Hubby didn’t want a cake b/c he wants to go get our favorite dessert today at Mitchell’s Fish Market – caramel banana bread pudding.  Can’t wait!  I tried to take some cute pics of us Friday night while watching a crappy movie (I love you beth cooper) but this is what he does (all the time!).  Sigh, maybe we’ll get some today.  Sorry its straight up my nose!  Happy Birthday Gary!  I’m sure he’ll love that I posted this.

Since I am stuck in the house today, I decided to try a new recipe.  Harper has a really bad cold, so we won’t be leaving today.  My poor baby.  There is nothing worse to a moms heart than her sick baby and when they are this little there is literally nothing you can give them that helps.  Baby Tylenol and saline drops is all we get.  Yeah, you try getting something up a 7 months nose. If I had been aware of how often babies have colds I probably would have started using the bulb syringe on Harper everyday just to get her used to it. I can’t get it near her.  Anyway, the hubby and I went to Costco yesterday and got some meat, so I had a pork roast sitting in the fridge and decided I wanted to get out the crock pot.  I am a huge fan of the crock pot, but don’t usually do anything to exciting in it.  Here is the recipe I snagged from allrecipes.