Rants, Recipes, and Running

It has been a long time since I've ranted! To be honest, I could probably throw down a rant weekly. But I worry way too much about offending others.  So I bite my tongue. My rant is not an angry rant. I rant with love. But if you would've asked me "how I feel" come 9:30 pm last night? You may have received a different answer. As I always do prior to any rant...here is my disclaimer:   **I love my husband. I don't think this even needs to be explained. You all know I'm head over heels for this guy! But sometimes, husbands do things to make us a little crazy. As do I create the same feelings to him.**  Where do I begin? It was a few weeks ago, my husband came home from work a little later than normal. I asked about his day, and his initial response was an inquiry about how I feel about backpacking. Hm. "Well, Ryan, I think backpacking seems pretty cool! Why do you ask?" He had stopped at REI to get sized for a backpack on his way home f...

I haven't done a great deal of recipe posts lately. Maybe because I haven't done a great deal of cooking lately! ;) I am just not good at cooking when Ryan is gone. It's so easy to just have cheese and crackers for dinner.....instead of a nutritious meal. When a man lives in the house - there are expectations to eat real meals containing grains , meat , & vegetables . So it's kind of exciting and liberating to say, "I'm going to have cereal and nutella for dinner!" But this is something I'm working on. I took Monday & Tuesday off this week to recover from the marathon. Therefore, spent my Tuesday making quinoa, butternut squash, and chicken breasts to prep my meals for the work week ahead! But my favorite staple I'm sharing is my favorite Kale Salad ever! My friend Kristin introduced this to me, and it's now my favorite. So fresh and delicious! And insanely easy. It's a great base, too..... Ingredients: 4 cups organic k...

Well, I finished! Now is the time where it is common for marathon runners to experience a phenomenon called the "Post Marathon Blues". (It's funny how many emotions occur around marathon training, that mirror the emotions that go into having a baby. ie: nesting pre baby/cleaning like crazy to burn off the taper-energy  Being super emotional before the race. I cried the day before the race over nothing, and I haven't cried in like 6 months! Not sleeping well. Post-Race-Blues/Baby-Blues In NO WAY am I comparing doing a marathon to having a baby. So please, do not misunderstand me. Having a baby = way more intense, strenuous, life-changing, emotional, ect. I just think it's interesting how some of the behaviors mirror. Anyways. I do not have the "Post-Marathon-Blues". In fact, I am kicking my heels in a fit of joy. Well, I would be, but I'm a bit too sore to move in that fashion. As my previous posts explained, I did not train like I shoul...

Due to a lack of creativity.....I figured I'd do a "Currently" post - as these are fun to look back at and see how I change over the months! So here's what's currently "me" Current Book: The Art of Hearing Heartbeats - it's about a young woman's treck to Burma to find her father. I'm only so far into it...so that's how much I know. It's part of my "Virtual Family Book Club" we've just started. I'm loving it so far! So excited for our 1st meeting. Current Excitement : I get to see Ryan tomorrow, and he's supposed to have a short day of classes - so should get on the road early and be home in time for us to cook together! Love that our 1st week separated was such a quick one! Current Fashion: I'm digging the straight legged dress pants I bought this weekend. They are comfortably - and are versatile for winter & spring. My new job forced me to get practically a new wardrobe....as I've transiti...

I've got a little over 1 week until race day! Going to be honest and say I'm ready for it to be over with. Also very excited for the race....however... I'm not feeling so confident! Most marathon runners hit this point in their training, and feel confident. They take a sigh of relief during taper! They've trained hard, they've done their strenuous (and arduous long runs), and now they rest. This is the time where they feel utterly exhausted, hungry, sleepy, and ready to race. I feel none of this. I was behind about 3-4 weeks on getting my training started due to a foot injury. Then when I finally resumed my training, I was extra-cautious! I was so afraid of re-injuring that foot. Most weeks I only got 3 runs in per week. Some weeks I only ran twice. My other days were spent cross training in the gym. Long runs were ran kind of slow (which is okay, per most experts). Then I started having breathing problems. Foot was better, but couldn't take a deep breat...

This is coming out a little late, I'm a tad "out of style", here. But, it's been a crazy few weeks! So I need to play catch-up. I cannot believe we are already into the new year. 2013 went so fast. When I look back, it doesn't feel like I'm reviewing a year - but recent events that were just experienced "the other day ", as we often say. At the same time, however, so much has happened this year that at times I feel like a completely different person. I thought about doing a "Top 10" list...but I'm not sure if I can quantify levels of joy. There were so many big events in 2013, some that were big game-changers for me that deserve to make this list. So here is a list of a  few of my favorite things in 2013 . Being separated from my husband for 6 weeks, and not being able to communicate via text/phone/email.... "What?!?! Is she crazy?!", some may say. That 1st experience was so good for us. For the 1st time in our rel...

As the Christmas holiday & winter season approaches, it brings back memories of Christmases past. And as I look back, it dawns on me how "weak" we've become. 1) About 7 years ago, I remember going for a run with my friend Marissa one night in December. It was -15 degrees out. We bundled up, and went running without question regarding the weather. Last weekend I went for a run in 31 degrees (granted, it was an 2 1/2 hr 18 mile run)....but it wiped me out so cold that my entire afternoon was spent wrapped up in blankets with a fever! 2) Growing up, it was a yearly tradition to assist my Mom and Dad in hanging the Christmas lights. (one of my favorite traditions, in fact) We'd bundle up in snowmobile suits, warm hats and gloves, hefty water-proof boots...and hang lights all day sometimes in sub-zero temps ! Last weekend, Ryan & I opted to wait a few days to hang the lights. It was just too cold. It was 50 degrees F out . The next day, Ryan had taken a...